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Inclination vs Compunction - What's the difference?

inclination | compunction |

As nouns the difference between inclination and compunction

is that inclination is a physical tilt or bend while compunction is a pricking of conscience or a feeling of regret, especially one which is slight or fleeting.

inclination

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A physical tilt or bend
  • * The inclination of his head increased and he awoke with a start.
  • A slant or slope
  • * The road up to the house had a steep inclination .
  • (senseid)A mental tendency
  • * His inclination to drink escalated to alcoholism.
  • (geometry) The angle of intersection of a reference plane
  • ''The astronomer calculated the inclination of the equator or ecliptic of Earth and the orbital planes of each visible heavenly body.
    Artillery must take account of a weapon's precise inclination .
  • (obsolete) A person or thing loved or admired.
  • Derived terms

    * inclinational

    Synonyms

    * incline * inclining * steepness

    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