qualm

[ kwahm, kwawm ]

noun

1. an uneasy feeling or pang of conscience as to conduct; compunction:

   He has no qualms about lying.

2. a sudden feeling of apprehensive uneasiness; misgiving:

   a sudden qualm about the success of the venture.

3. a sudden sensation or onset of faintness or illness, especially of nausea.

qualm

/ kwɑːm /

noun

1. a sudden feeling of sickness or nausea
2. a pang or sudden feeling of doubt, esp concerning moral conduct; scruple
3. a sudden sensation of misgiving or unease

Derived Forms

• ˈqualmish, adjective
• ˈqualmishly, adverb
• ˈqualmishness, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of qualm¹

First recorded in 1520–30; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of qualm¹

Old English cwealm death or plague; related to Old High German qualm despair, Dutch kwalm smoke, stench

Example Sentences

As a result, traffic control has risen close to the top when it comes to citizens’ qualms with city services.

From Voice of San Diego

You are right about the danger of posting qualms about a child, but the damage is done.

From Washington Post

Brooks has no qualms about playing rookies as his usage of last year’s No.

From Washington Post

Trustify publicly acknowledged jumping on material hacked and leaked from dating websites without ethical qualms.

From Washington Post

Since then, those qualms have been compounded by fears of persistent disinformation campaigns and the growing threat of deep fake video ads.

From Digiday

Loewen proved to have one qualm that showed he was not a total monster.

From The Daily Beast

Yet I admit to feeling a qualm when I hear this phrase, "moral defense."

From The Daily Beast

Breitbart used those tools without qualm or regret, and he inspired a cohort of young conservative journalists to do likewise.

From The Daily Beast

He sensed she could be coldly calculating; that neither qualm nor principle would keep her from furthering her own ends.

From Project Gutenberg

He suffered no qualm of conscience, no revolt of personal honor, no spasm of sympathy or pity.

From Project Gutenberg

Her mind never suffered the slightest misgiving, her conscience the least qualm.

From Project Gutenberg

Val was conscious of something like a qualm at not having thought about the East, or even the opera, for days.

From Project Gutenberg

Hence none felt any qualm as to the strong measures to be adopted towards the hostile sharer of the secret.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• anxiety
• apprehension
• disquiet
• hesitation
• misgiving
• nervousness
• objection
• pang
• reluctance
• remorse
• twinge
• unease
• uneasiness