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.
As a child, I loved the board game Scruples and “The Book of Questions,” social experiments masquerading as parlor games.
From New York Times • Jul. 23, 2022
Scruples did not respond to a request for comment.
From Washington Post • Mar. 19, 2020
So she decides to do what any clotheshorse dreams of: she opens a luxury boutique, called Scruples, on Rodeo Drive, and becomes the queen of Los Angeles fashion.
From The New Yorker • Jun. 25, 2019
She turned to fiction at the age of 50 with Scruples.
From The Guardian • Jun. 24, 2019
Scruples warp the judgment, disturb the peace of the soul, beget mistrust of the Sacraments and estrangement from them, and impair the health of body and mind.
From Light and Peace Instructions for devout souls to dispel their doubts and allay their fears by Quadrupani, Carlo Giuseppe
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.
