compursion
Syllables: com·purs·ion/kəmˈpɜːʒn̩//kəmˈpɜɹʒən/
compursion noun: a pursing, as of the lips.
Noun
compursion (plural compursions)
- A pursing, as of the lips.
- However, as he knew not what the true cause might turn out, he deemed it most prudent, in the situation he was in at present, to bear it, if possible, like a Stoic, which, with the help of some wry faces and compursions of the mouth, he had certainly accomplished, had his imagination continued...1761, [Laurence Sterne], The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume IV, London: […] R[obert] and J[ames] Dodsley […], →OCLC
- A compursion of the boy's face. "Does it mean something I don't understand?"2001, Jamie O'Neill, At Swim, Two Boys, page 254
Forms of compursion
| plural | compursions |
|---|
Origin of compursion
From com- (prefix meaning ‘together’) + purse (“to press (one’s lips) in and together so that they protrude”, verb) + -ion (suffix denoting an action or process, or condition or state).
Words that rhyme with compursion
Questions about compursion
- What does compursion mean?
- Compursion means a pursing, as of the lips.
- What part of speech is compursion?
- Compursion is a noun.
- How do you pronounce compursion?
- Compursion is pronounced /kəmˈpɜːʒn̩/ (UK).
- What is the plural of compursion?
- The plural of compursion is compursions.
Words near compursion in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: compursion (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-compersion.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-compersion.wav.
Cite this entry: “compursion.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/compursion. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.