- present tense form of scruple (3rd person singular).
scruples
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of scruples
First recorded in 1520–30; scruple ( def. ) + -s 3 ( def. )
Explanation
Having scruples is kind of like having a conscience: your morals or scruples cause you to act in ways you think are right. The idea of scruples has to do with ethics and morality: what is right and wrong. If you had no scruples at all, you'd just kill, steal, cheat, and do God knows what else. Scruples are a kind of moral compass that lets you know what's right. Often people use this word in an outraged way when someone does something bad: "Don't you have any scruples?" Liars, thieves, criminals, and politicians have fewer scruples than the rest of us.
Vocabulary lists containing scruples
"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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Charlotte's Web
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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.
Employees in these movies come to the conclusion their boss lacks scruples, boundaries or the qualifications to have the job.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 29, 2025
Some may have otherwise been stolen by Western visitors with less scruples to be sold on the lucrative European and American artefacts market.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2024
Executives at established tech giants might have their own honest scruples about where all of this is heading.
From Slate ● Nov. 27, 2023
“But despite the LSBA’s scruples, Boudreaux has still identified some examples of non-germane speech.”
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 15, 2023
“He who throws away his power is filled sometimes with a far greater power,” she said, smiling, as if his fears and scruples were childish ones.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
