'Scruple' definitions:
Definition of 'scruple'
(from WordNet)
noun
A unit of apothecary weight equal to 20 grains
noun
noun
An ethical or moral principle that inhibits action
verb
Hesitate on moral grounds; "The man scrupled to perjure himself"
verb
Raise scruples; "He lied and did not even scruple about it"
verb
Have doubts about
Definition of 'Scruple'
From: GCIDE
- Scruple \Scru"ple\, n. [L. scrupulus a small sharp or pointed stone, the twenty-fourth part of an ounce, a scruple, uneasiness, doubt, dim. of scrupus a rough or sharp stone, anxiety, uneasiness; perh. akin to Gr. ? the chippings of stone, ? a razor, Skr. kshura: cf. F. scrupule.]
- 1. A weight of twenty grains; the third part of a dram. [1913 Webster]
- 2. Hence, a very small quantity; a particle. [1913 Webster]
- I will not bate thee a scruple. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Hesitation as to action from the difficulty of determining what is right or expedient; unwillingness, doubt, or hesitation proceeding from motives of conscience. [1913 Webster]
- He was made miserable by the conflict between his tastes and his scruples. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
- To make scruple, to hesitate from conscientious motives; to scruple. --Locke. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Scruple'
From: GCIDE
- Scruple \Scru"ple\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Scrupled; p. pr. & vb. n. Scrupling.] To be reluctant or to hesitate, as regards an action, on account of considerations of conscience or expedience. [1913 Webster]
- We are often over-precise, scrupling to say or do those things which lawfully we may. --Fuller. [1913 Webster]
- Men scruple at the lawfulness of a set form of divine worship. --South. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Scruple'
From: GCIDE
- Scruple \Scru"ple\, v. t.
- 1. To regard with suspicion; to hesitate at; to question. [1913 Webster]
- Others long before them . . . scrupled more the books of heretics than of gentiles. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
- 2. To excite scruples in; to cause to scruple. [R.] [1913 Webster]
- Letters which did still scruple many of them. --E. Symmons. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'scruple'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- ace,
- apprehension,
- atom,
- awake a doubt,
- back down,
- balance,
- balk,
- balk at,
- bashfulness,
- be diffident,
- be doubtful,
- be dubious,
- be skeptical,
- be uncertain,
- beef,
- better self,
- bit,
- bitch,
- blench,
- boggle,
- boggling,
- boycott,
- call in question,
- challenge,
- complain,
- complaint,
- compunction,
- conscience,
- conscientiousness,
- contest,
- cry out against,
- dab,
- debate,
- deliberate,
- demonstrate,
- demonstrate against,
- demonstration,
- demur,
- demurral,
- demurrer,
- diffidence,
- discomfort,
- dispute,
- distrust,
- distrustfulness,
- dole,
- dot,
- doubt,
- doubtfulness,
- dram,
- dribble,
- driblet,
- dubiety,
- dubiousness,
- dwarf,
- enter a protest,
- exception,
- expostulate,
- expostulation,
- falter,
- faltering,
- farthing,
- fastidiousness,
- fear,
- fight shy of,
- fleck,
- flinch,
- flyspeck,
- fragment,
- fret,
- gag,
- gobbet,
- grain,
- granule,
- greet with skepticism,
- grievance,
- grievance committee,
- groat,
- hair,
- half believe,
- half-belief,
- handful,
- hang back,
- hang off,
- harbor suspicions,
- have qualms,
- have reservations,
- hem and haw,
- hesitance,
- hesitancy,
- hesitate,
- hesitation,
- hold off,
- holler,
- hover,
- howl,
- hum and haw,
- indignation meeting,
- iota,
- jib,
- jot,
- kick,
- leeriness,
- little,
- little bit,
- lota,
- make bones about,
- march,
- meticulousness,
- minim,
- minimum,
- minutiae,
- misdoubt,
- misgive,
- misgiving,
- mistrust,
- mistrustfulness,
- mite,
- modesty,
- modicum,
- molecule,
- mote,
- nonviolent protest,
- nutshell,
- object,
- objection,
- ounce,
- overconscientiousness,
- overscrupulousness,
- pangs,
- pangs of conscience,
- particle,
- pause,
- pebble,
- picket,
- picketing,
- pinch,
- pittance,
- point,
- point of honor,
- ponder,
- press objections,
- pricking of heart,
- protest,
- protest demonstration,
- protestation,
- pull back,
- punctilio,
- punctiliousness,
- Pyrrhonism,
- quail,
- qualm,
- qualm of conscience,
- qualmishness,
- qualms,
- query,
- question,
- raise a howl,
- raise a question,
- rally,
- recoil,
- reconsideration,
- reluctance,
- remonstrance,
- remonstrate,
- remonstration,
- retreat,
- scrap,
- scruples,
- scrupulosity,
- scrupulousness,
- second thought,
- second thoughts,
- self-doubt,
- shadow of doubt,
- shilly-shally,
- shred,
- shrink,
- shrink from,
- shrinking,
- shy,
- shy at,
- shyness,
- sit in,
- sit-in,
- skepticalness,
- skepticism,
- smell a rat,
- smidgen,
- smitch,
- speck,
- spoonful,
- spot,
- squawk,
- squeamishness,
- state a grievance,
- stick,
- stick at,
- stickle,
- stickling,
- stop to consider,
- straddle the fence,
- strain,
- strain at,
- strike,
- stumble,
- suspect,
- suspicion,
- suspiciousness,
- teach in,
- teach-in,
- thimbleful,
- think twice about,
- throes,
- throw doubt upon,
- tiny bit,
- tittle,
- total skepticism,
- touch of conscience,
- treat with reserve,
- trifling amount,
- trivia,
- twinge of conscience,
- uncertainty,
- uneasiness,
- vacillate,
- voice of conscience,
- wariness,
- waver,
- whit,
- wince,
- withdraw,
- worry,
- yell bloody murder,
- yield