Master confusing words with ease
Compulsion vs. Compunction
Compulsion
/kəmˈpʌlʃən/Examples:
His compulsion to clean the house daily was exhausting.She felt a compulsion to check her phone every few minutes.The artist was driven by an overwhelming compulsion to create.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Compunction
/kəmˈpʌŋkʃən/Examples:
She felt compunction about missing the meeting but had no choice.Even after the victory, he felt compunction towards his rival.No compunction stopped her from taking the last slice of cake.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
- Compulsion relates to a strong, irresistible urge to do something, often without considering the consequences, while compunction involves a feeling of guilt or remorse after doing something.
- Think of compulsion as something pushing you to act, whereas compunction deals with the consequence of regret after an action.
- Remember compulsion for actions driven by inner forces and compunction for the feelings that follow the actions.
- Both words sound similar but focus on different parts of behavior: initial action vs. emotional reaction.
- Compulsion and compunction can both involve personal conflicts, but they deal with different aspects: the drive versus the conscience.
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