Question

compunctious adjective William Shakespeare never had any compunction about coining or using new words, and "compunctious" debuted in Macbeth (1605). In that play, the murderous Lady Macbeth beseeches the spirits to "stop up the access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose...." Shakespeare formed the adjective from the noun "compunction," meaning "remorse," and the suffix "-ous," which is often used to create adjectives indicating that something or someone has or is full of a particular quality. "Compunction" came to English through Anglo-French from the Late Latin noun "compunctio," which in turn evolved from the Latin verb "compungere," meaning "to prick hard" or "to sting." 1 : arising from remorse or regret2 : feeling remorse or regret

Accepted Answer

March 20, 2008 kum-PUNK-shus Emily's compunctious feelings eventually got the better of her, so she apologized to Sean for the cruel things she had said in the argument.

Word	compunctious
Date	March 20, 2008
Type	adjective
Syllables	kum-PUNK-shus
Etymology	William Shakespeare never had any compunction about coining or using new words, and "compunctious" debuted in Macbeth (1605). In that play, the murderous Lady Macbeth beseeches the spirits to "stop up the access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose...." Shakespeare formed the adjective from the noun "compunction," meaning "remorse," and the suffix "-ous," which is often used to create adjectives indicating that something or someone has or is full of a particular quality. "Compunction" came to English through Anglo-French from the Late Latin noun "compunctio," which in turn evolved from the Latin verb "compungere," meaning "to prick hard" or "to sting."
Examples	Emily's compunctious feelings eventually got the better of her, so she apologized to Sean for the cruel things she had said in the argument.
Definition	1 : arising from remorse or regret 2 : feeling remorse or regret

Compunctious Adjective Shakespeare Macbeth Noun Meaning Latin Remorse