qualm

[ kwahm, kwawm ]

/ kwɑm, kwɔm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR qualm ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an uneasy feeling or pang of conscience as to conduct; compunction: He has no qualms about lying.

a sudden feeling of apprehensive uneasiness; misgiving: a sudden qualm about the success of the venture.

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

Nearby words

quality point, quality point average, quality time, quality-assure, quality-of-life, qualm, qualmish, quamash, quamin, quamish, quanah

Origin of qualm

First recorded in 1520–30; origin uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for qualm

Loewen proved to have one qualm that showed he was not a total monster.
Terry Lee Loewen, the Mellow Kansas Man Who Dreamed of Jihad|Michael Daly|December 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Yet I admit to feeling a qualm when I hear this phrase, "moral defense."
A Desperate Defense of Capitalism|David Frum|May 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He can look into my dead eyes and threaten this—without a quiver—without a qualm!
The Ghetto|Herman Heijermans
At any rate he was able to produce this sentence without a qualm.
The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

Qualm and pang came upon him as part of the situation, almost as his deserts.
Denis Dent|Ernest W. Hornung
As for such weakness as a qualm of conscience, Pignaver was as far above such childishness as the Bravi themselves.
Stradella|F(rancis) Marion Crawford
"I didn't suppose I was quite so poor an impostor," I said apologetically, with a qualm at the word.
Blindfolded|Earle Ashley Walcott

British Dictionary definitions for qualm

qualm

/ (kwɑːm) /

noun

a sudden feeling of sickness or nausea

a pang or sudden feeling of doubt, esp concerning moral conduct; scruple

a sudden sensation of misgiving or unease

Derived Forms

qualmish, adjectivequalmishly, adverbqualmishness, noun

Word Origin for qualm

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012