scruple

[ skroo-puhl ]

/ ˈskru pəl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scruple ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a moral or ethical consideration or standard that acts as a restraining force or inhibits certain actions.

a very small portion or amount.

a unit of weight equal to 20 grains (1.295 grams) or 1/3 of a dram, apothecaries' weight.

an ancient Roman unit of weight equivalent to 1/24 of an ounce or 1/288 of an as or pound.Compare as²(def 2).

verb (used without object), scru·pled, scru·pling.

to have scruples.

verb (used with object), scru·pled, scru·pling.

to have scruples about; hesitate at.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

scrumpy, scrunch, scruncheon, scrunchie, scrunchy, scruple, scrupulous, scrutable, scrutator, scrutineer, scrutinize

Origin of scruple

1350–1400; (< French scrupule) < Latin scrūpulus unit of weight, worry, precaution equivalent to scrūp(us) rough pebble + -ulus -ule; replacing earlier scriple, Middle English < Latin scrīpulum (variant scriptulum) small weight, pebble, alteration of scrūpulus by association with scrīptum writing (see script; for sense relation cf. gram¹)

SYNONYMS FOR scruple

1 qualm, compunction, restraint.

6 waver.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scruple ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

scru·ple·less, adjectiveo·ver·scru·ple, verb, o·ver·scru·pled, o·ver·scru·pling.un·scru·pled, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for scruple

So she did avail herself of his zeal,—and that without any scruple.
Doctor Thorne|Anthony Trollope
We burned foreign cloth without a scruple, and the spirituality of the movement did not receive a shock when we burned them.
Freedom Through Disobedience|C. R. (Chittaranjan) Das
Clearly these masses, and such as these, ought to be selected first for what I will not scruple to call interment.
On Books and the Housing of Them|William Ewart Gladstone
His mind was made up; there was nothing left of hesitation or scruple.
The Mermaid|Lily Dougall

Little Larkins had told all, and his father had no scruple in repeating it, and causing the investigation to be set on foot.
The Daisy Chain|Charlotte Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for scruple

scruple

/ (ˈskruːpəl) /

noun

(often plural) a doubt or hesitation as to what is morally right in a certain situation

archaic a very small amount

a unit of weight equal to 20 grains (1.296 grams)

an ancient Roman unit of weight equivalent to approximately one twenty-fourth of an ounce

verb

(obsolete when tr) to have doubts (about), esp for a moral reason

Derived Forms

scrupleless, adjective

Word Origin for scruple

C16: from Latin scrūpulus a small weight, from scrūpus rough stone

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

Medicine definitions for scruple

scruple

[ skrōō′pəl ]

n.

An uneasy feeling arising from conscience or principle that tends to hinder action.

A unit of apothecary weight that is equal to about 1.3 grams, or 20 grains.

A minute part or amount.