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, scruples, scrupulous, scrutable, scrutator, scrutineer, scrutinise

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 formsscru·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 scruples

Mengele has neither doubts about his hideous purpose or scruples about his heinous past.
Holocaust Horrors Haunt the Films ‘Ida’ And ‘The German Doctor’|Jack Schwartz|May 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Had it been anybody but Tessie I should not have bothered my head about scruples.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He turned to glance at his watch, and to kill the last five minutes of the prescribed time he thought of Evelyn's scruples.
Evelyn Innes|George Moore
But now hear what I have ascertained—I, who do not boast either of my scruples of conscience or of my perspicacity.
Wood Rangers|Mayne Reid

Meanwhile the Professor was filled with scruples and remorse for the unfortunate step he had taken.
The Patriot|Antonio Fogazzaro
She was quite untroubled by what the world calls morality—and she had no scruples.
The Career of Katherine Bush|Elinor Glyn
For he judged them to be phantoms (alcoholic in their origin), his scruples of last night.
The Divine Fire|May Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for scruples

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 Formsscrupleless, 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

Word Origin and History for scruples (1 of 2)

scruple

"moral misgiving, pang of conscience," late 14c., from Old French scrupule (14c.), from Latin scrupulus "uneasiness, anxiety, pricking of conscience," literally "small sharp stone," diminutive of scrupus "sharp stone or pebble," used figuratively by Cicero for a cause of uneasiness or anxiety, probably from the notion of having a pebble in one's shoe. The word in the more literal Latin sense of "small unit of weight or measurement" is attested in English from late 14c.

Word Origin and History for scruples (1 of 2)

scruple

"to have or make scruples," 1620s, from scruple (n.). Related: Scrupled; scrupling.

Medicine definitions for scruples

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.