qualm
Americannoun
-
qualms
plural
-
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.
noun
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a sudden feeling of sickness or nausea
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a pang or sudden feeling of doubt, esp concerning moral conduct; scruple
-
a sudden sensation of misgiving or unease
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of qualm
First recorded in 1520–30; origin uncertain
Explanation
A qualm is a feeling of uneasiness, or a sense that something you're doing is wrong, and it sounds almost like how it makes your stomach feel. If you had qualms about taking candy from the bulk bins at the store, your conscience probably told you to go back to the cashier and pay. Qualm entered English in the 16th century, with meanings like "doubt" and "uneasiness." Usually a qualm comes from doubt about an action and a feeling that you are doing, or are about to do, something wrong. It isn’t a bad feeling about another person's behavior but about your own. If you have qualms about lying to get into the over-18 dance club, you might decide to follow your gut-check and meet your friends for coffee instead.
Vocabulary lists containing qualm
To Kill a Mockingbird
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The Catcher in the Rye
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 12–15
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"The very nature of the alleged conspiracy does not state an antitrust claim, and the court therefore has no qualm dismissing with prejudice," she concluded.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026
If the program’s resources are finite, though, you might well feel an ethical qualm about taking assistance that someone else needs more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2024
The only qualm we have with the Charge 5 is the always-on display.
From The Verge ● Mar. 18, 2022
In the past, if she had a qualm in a rehearsal about a character or a scene, she would let it be, then end up feeling awkward and foolish onstage.
From New York Times ● Feb. 25, 2022
There was a sick qualm at the pit of Johnny’s stomach.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
The early OpenAI investor explains his qualms with America’s tax system, the reason Silicon Valley tilted toward Trump and how AI will change our economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Narbé Mansourian — a social studies teacher — had no qualms about separating the players from the politics in the country with the complicated geopolitical — and personal — history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
Before the tournament, Ghana head coach Carlos Quieroz said he had no qualms over selecting Partey.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
But “Disclosure Day” makes no qualms about its sanguinity.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
Given the existential threat posed by a German bomb, few harbored any qualms about the Allies using theirs first.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
