conscience Noun
( en noun)
The moral sense of right and wrong, chiefly as it affects one's own behaviour.
* 1949 , , as quoted by Virgil Henshaw in Albert Einstein: Philosopher Scientist ,
- Never do anything against conscience , even if the state demands it.
* 1951 , (Isaac Asimov), publication), part V: “The Merchant Princes”, chapter 14, page 175, ¶ 7
- [“]Twer is not a friend of mine testifying against me reluctantly and for conscience ’ sake, as the prosecution would have you believe. He is a spy, performing his paid job.[”]
* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=18 citation
, passage=‘Then the father has a great fight with his terrible conscience ,’ said Munday with granite seriousness. ‘Should he make a row with the police […]? Or should he say nothing about it and condone brutality for fear of appearing in the newspapers?}}
(chiefly fiction) A personification of the moral sense of right and wrong, usually in the form of a person, a being or merely a voice that gives moral lessons and advices.
(obsolete) Consciousness; thinking; awareness, especially self-awareness.
* 1603 , (William Shakespeare), (Hamlet) , act 3, scene 1,
- Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
- And thus the native hue of resolution
- Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought.
Usage notes
* Adjectives often used with "conscience": good, bad, guilty.
* Phrases: To make conscience of, To make a matter of conscience, to act according to the dictates of conscience concerning (any matter), or to scruple to act contrary to its dictates.
Derived terms
* consciencelike
* conscience money
* conscience vote
* conscientious
* make conscience
* pang of conscience
Related terms
* conscientious
* conscientiously
* conscientiousness
* conscionable
* consciousness
See also
* synteresis
External links
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compunction English
Noun
( en noun)
A pricking of conscience or a feeling of regret, especially one which is slight or fleeting.
* :
- [H]e would have had no compunction whatever in flinging him out of the highest window in Venice into the deepest water of the city.
* 1897 , , Dracula , ch. 3:
- I felt no compunction in doing so, for under the circumstances I felt that I should protect myself in every way I could.
* 1920 , , Women in Love , ch. 8:
- But he felt, later, a little compunction . He had been violent, cruel with poor Hermione. He wanted to recompense her, to make it up.
* 2003 February 16, Blaine Greteman, " No Peace Dividend ," Time :
- As for average U.S. consumers, they've shown little compunction about buying diamonds that fund bloody militias in Africa.
Synonyms
* regret, remorse, qualm
* See also
See also
* contrition
* penitence, penance
* guilt
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