scruple
scruple Lexical Profile
scruple Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A feeling of doubt, hesitation, or uneasiness arising from one's conscience regarding the morality or propriety of a course of action.
"She had no scruples about reporting the fraudulent accounting practices to the regulatory board."
A traditional apothecaries' unit of weight equal to 20 grains (approximately 1.296 grams), or a very small amount of something.
"The nineteenth-century pharmacopoeia called for two scruples of dried gentian root in the herbal tonic."
• verb
To hesitate or be reluctant to do something because of moral principles or questions of propriety (usually used in negative or interrogative contexts).
"The opportunistic biographer did not scruple to publish private family letters without permission."
Word Nuance & Usage
As a noun referring to moral principles, 'scruple' is most commonly used in the plural ('scruples') or in negative constructions such as 'without scruple'. As a verb, it is almost exclusively used in negative or interrogative sentences followed by an infinitive (e.g., 'He did not scruple to lie').
• Rhymes for scruple
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old French scrupule or directly from Latin scrupulus ('uneasiness of mind' or 'a small sharp stone'), the diminutive of scrupus ('sharp stone'). Cicero popularized the figurative metaphor comparing a nagging moral doubt in the conscience to the discomfort of having a tiny pebble lodged in one's shoe.