qualm

noun \ ˈkwäm also ˈkwȯm or ˈkwälm \

|Updated on: 20 Jul 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: qualm in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of qualm

1 : a feeling of uneasiness about a point especially of conscience or propriety

had no qualms about asking for their help

It was about an enduring secular world where people did unspeakable things, seemingly without qualm and without any grave consequences to themselves.
—Jim Holt

2 : a sudden feeling of usually disturbing emotion (such as doubt or fear)

I had a qualm of absolute horror, and shuddered; and then the emotion was immediately repressed or suppressed.
—Oliver Sacks

3 : a sudden attack of illness, faintness, or nausea

The doctor seemed seized with a qualm of faintness.
—Robert Louis Stevenson

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qualmy

play \ˈkwä-mē also ˈkwȯ- or ˈkwäl-\ adjective

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Examples of qualm in a Sentence

He accepted their offer without a qualm.
she has no qualms about downloading pirated music files from the Internet

Recent Examples of qualm from the Web

Recent incidents involving Chinese military personnel injuring American military aircrews in Africa and the East China Sea shows Beijing has few qualms about using them to intentionally blind human beings.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "China Claims to Have a Laser Assault Rifle That Can Set Clothes on Fire," 3 July 2018
Mr Trump does not have qualms about befriending strongmen.

— The Economist, "Insecurity complexGulf states fear being encircled by Iran and abandoned by America," 21 June 2018
Ten of the 12 former employees whom The Post contacted, however, expressed qualms about the company's sales practices, describing an environment where meeting monthly goals seemed at times to rely on customer ignorance or distress.

— peter whoriskey, courant.com, "Unsolicited checks can be a lifeline and an albatross," 2 July 2018
If a company offers us an suitably attractive service in exchange for our personal data, most of us will hand it over without a qualm — privacy law or no privacy law.

— hiawatha bray, BostonGlobe.com, "Calif.’s Net privacy law gives consumers more clout, and Big Tech may be just fine with that," 1 July 2018
Watch Now: Kanye West's Most Kanye Outfits Ever JaVonte Harris, who owns a Yeezus tour Confederate flag hat, two tour shirts, and the most recent Yeezy Desert Rat sneakers, has no qualms wearing the clothes.

— julian kimble, GQ, "So Appalled: Kanye West Fans Debate What to Do with All that Yeezy Merch," 22 June 2018
Saving money has at times trumped public officials’ qualms about Wells Fargo.

— emily glazer, WSJ, "Wells Fargo Struggles to Get Off the Municipal-Bond Blacklist," 17 June 2018
Preferring to play as a central defender, the Real Madrid player has no qualms filling in at full back or even elsewhere on the pitch.

— SI.com, "Nacho Hoping to 'Cancel Out' Real Madrid Teammate Cristiano Ronaldo in Spain's Opening Match," 10 June 2018
Trump has shown no qualms about pardoning his conservative political allies since taking office.

— matt ford, The New Republic, "The World’s Most Powerful Rube," 4 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'qualm.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Etymologists aren't sure where qualm originated, but they do know it entered English around 1530. Originally, it referred to a sudden sick feeling. Robert Louis Stevenson made use of this older sense in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: A qualm came over me, a horrid nausea and the most deadly shuddering. Soon after qualm entered the language, it came to designate not only sudden attacks of illness, but also sudden attacks of emotion or principle. In The Sketch Book, for example, Washington Irving wrote, Immediately after one of these fits of extravagance, he will be taken with violent qualms of economy.... Eventually, qualm took on the specific (and now most common) meaning of doubt or uneasiness, particularly in not following one's conscience or better judgment.

Origin and Etymology of qualm

origin unknown

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1530

in the meaning defined at sense 3

See Words from the same year

qualm Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of qualm

qualm, scruple, compunction, demur mean a misgiving about what one is doing or going to do. qualm implies an uneasy fear that one is not following one's conscience or better judgment.