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qualm

qualm

32 8.4
A feeling of doubt or unease about whether you are doing the right thing
  • noun
  • /kwɑm/
: escrúpulo
  • A bipartisan poll taken in June indicates that many Americans have qualms about the educational choice concept.
  • qualms of conscience
  • moral qualms
  • express qualms

He has no reservations, qualms, caveats.

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Examples

  • You might want to take a look at these if you have any further qualms about getting her to do the job.

  • She expressed a qualm about the decision, wondering if it was truly the right choice.

  • Women leave men without a qualm, but leaving a child is in a different category.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Other men had regarded this qualm on his part as foolish, but it remained.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • What do moral qualms have to do with it?

  • Does anyone else have qualms about the ethics of our task?

  • We're vulnerable to qualms of conscience like anyone else.

  • You need have no qualms about marrying Euan.

  • Remembering myself at seventeen, I had qualms about leaving her in charge.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Although most students withdraw from public forums, they have fewer qualms about direct interactions with the instructor.

    Academic text (2002)

Synonyms

doubt
vsqualm
∞ 1.6

A feeling of not being sure about something

is an uneasy feeling focused on moral correctness rather than simple uncertainty
scruples
vsqualm
14 7.6

Feelings that make you hesitate because something seems wrong

is an uneasy feeling about whether one is doing the right thing
misgiving
vsqualm
2 5.9

A feeling of doubt or worry about whether something will turn out well

is an uneasy feeling about moral rightness rather than general worry
incertitude
vsqualm
  • Formal
1 8.9

A feeling of not being sure or confident about something

is an uneasy feeling about doing what is right rather than plain uncertainty
dubiety
vsqualm
  • Formal
1 9.9

A feeling of doubt or uncertainty about something

is an uneasy feeling about moral rightness rather than neutral uncertainty
doubtfulness
vsqualm
1 5.5

A feeling of not being sure about something

is an uneasy feeling about whether actions are morally acceptable

Antonyms

391 2.1

A belief that you can do something well

certainty
  • Literature
198 3.4

A strong feeling that something is true or will happen

How Uneasy

alarm
65 2.3
worry
378 1.0
misgiving
2 5.9
qualm
32 8.4
concern
∞ 1.5

Surface Forms

qualm singular
qualms plural

Etymology

Qualm comes from an old English word cwealm that meant 'death' or a sudden 'pain'. That idea of a sharp, sudden pain changed into a sharp worry or guilt, so a qualm today is a strong feeling of doubt about whether you are doing the right thing.