qualm

\ ˈkwäm

also ˈkwȯm or ˈkwälm

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

Other Words from qualm Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about qualm

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Choose the Right Synonym for 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. no qualms about plagiarizing scruple implies doubt of the rightness of an act on grounds of principle. no scruples against buying stolen goods compunction implies a spontaneous feeling of responsibility or compassion for a potential victim. had compunctions about lying demur implies hesitation caused by objection to an outside suggestion or influence. accepted her decision without demur

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.

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 on the Web PayPal’s qualms about Libra had recently become apparent. — Wired, "PayPal Unfriends Facebook's Libra Cryptocurrency," 4 Oct. 2019 Despite qualms about the condition of your budget your outlook remains rosy. — Tribune Content Agency, oregonlive.com, "Horoscope for July 10, 2019: Happy birthday Chiwetel Ejiofor; Scorpio, be resilient during ups and downs," 10 July 2019 Needless to say, no such questions or qualms prevented Schwarzman’s name from being plastered all over the New York Public Library’s 42nd Street flagship in exchange for a gift of $100 million. — Frank Rich, Daily Intelligencer, "The Original Donald Trump," 29 Apr. 2018 And again, Burrow has no qualms about suiting up for the Bengals in Cincinnati. — Tyler Dragon, Cincinnati.com, "Here's everything Joe Burrow had to say about the Cincinnati Bengals at the NFL Combine," 25 Feb. 2020 The Cowboys offense goes through Dak Prescott now, and Ezekiel Elliott has no qualms with the approach while the team wins, writes Jori Epstein. — USA TODAY, "The inside story about how Colin Kaepernick and the NFL broke apart last week's workout," 22 Nov. 2019 Many pregnancy centers are managed by boards filled with Catholics and evangelical Christians, many of whom have qualms with birth control. — Washington Post, "A new chain of Christian pregnancy centers will provide a controversial service: Contraception," 8 Nov. 2019 Colvin has no qualms about her recognition as an accidental freedom fighter. — al, "Claudette Colvin, the pregnant teen who fought Alabama bus segregation before Rosa Parks," 16 Jan. 2020 Some Jews are imploring friends and relatives to vote Labour to stop Brexit, whatever their qualms. — Benjamin Mueller, New York Times, "At Odds With Labour, Britain’s Jews Are Feeling Politically Homeless," 21 Nov. 2019

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.