1
as in shred
a very small amount
went about her business without even a scruple of suspicion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in speck
a very small piece
left just a scruple of asparagus on the plate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in doubt
an uneasy feeling about the rightness of what one is doing or going to do
the survey showed that many students had few scruples about cheating on papers or exams
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to hesitate
to show uncertainty about the right course of action
a tabloid journalist who has never scrupled to reveal the most intimate details about the lives of celebrities
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scruple
Literary Hub, 14 May 2026
And like any good femme fatale, Maddy is given savvy at the expense of moral scruple.
—The Editors, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2026
But we’re invited to see him as, despite these foibles, amusing and retaining, and his cynicism about everything and his lack of moral scruple is—actually, we’re invited to see this as a kind of higher wisdom.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
But the squirrelly, middle-aged guy at the weird surplus store in northern Florida had no such scruples.
—Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2026
Sometimes, a billionaire has very questionable scruples as to the best ways to go about things.
—Jevon Phillips, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
These firms now pay their rainmakers like Wall Street stars and have dropped their courtly scruples for relentless commercialism.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Mainstream Republicans and right-leaning unaffiliated voters will gravitate to candidates with experience and scruples.
—Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 31 Dec. 2025
For Jay Gatsby, a man of immense wealth and few scruples, almost nothing is beyond his voracious appetite for excess.
—David Lyman, Cincinnati Enquirer, 30 Oct. 2025
Noun
Colonial authorities regularly questioned their character, scruples, and business practices; Grietje and Anthony returned the favor.
—Literary Hub, 14 May 2026
And like any good femme fatale, Maddy is given savvy at the expense of moral scruple.
—The Editors, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2026
But we’re invited to see him as, despite these foibles, amusing and retaining, and his cynicism about everything and his lack of moral scruple is—actually, we’re invited to see this as a kind of higher wisdom.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
But the squirrelly, middle-aged guy at the weird surplus store in northern Florida had no such scruples.
—Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2026
Sometimes, a billionaire has very questionable scruples as to the best ways to go about things.
—Jevon Phillips, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
These firms now pay their rainmakers like Wall Street stars and have dropped their courtly scruples for relentless commercialism.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Mainstream Republicans and right-leaning unaffiliated voters will gravitate to candidates with experience and scruples.
—Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 31 Dec. 2025
For Jay Gatsby, a man of immense wealth and few scruples, almost nothing is beyond his voracious appetite for excess.
—David Lyman, Cincinnati Enquirer, 30 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scruple
Noun
-
The perpetrators of these crimes are savage animals without a shred of humanity.—
Bobby Zirkin,
Baltimore Sun,
14 May 2026
-
That's patently false and not supported by a shred of evidence.—
Dan Zaksheske OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
As in Kourliandski’s quartet, specks and splatters of sound are interspersed with silences.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
The titular town is a serene speck of a place in the west of Japan, near a mountain also called Nagi, a beautiful but raggedy landscape that patchworks swathes of virgin forest, farmed fields and twinkling solar panels.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
The election drubbing cemented doubts among many Labor lawmakers about Starmer’s judgment, vision and leadership ability — a brutal indictment on a leader who returned the party to power in July 2024 after 14 years in opposition.—
Danica Kirka,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
-
When in doubt, turn to Dries Van Noten’s polka-dot-print pareo.—
Laura Jackson,
Vogue,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
And the Los Angeles Chargers didn’t hesitate on pulling the trigger.—
Greg Dudek,
Boston Herald,
15 May 2026
-
When leadership is too removed, teams hesitate.—
Sue Mysko,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
With hints of Nashville and LA sprinkled throughout the shop, a KC native just opened a new boutique and embroidery bar in the Northland.—
Jenna Ebbers,
Kansas City Star,
12 May 2026
-
The thread packed with hints served as a playful nod to Taylor Swift's new sourdough obsession and her relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.—
Paloma Chavez,
PEOPLE,
12 May 2026
Noun
-
What this revealed was that atomic nuclei heavier than the atomic nucleus of iron lost energy much more slowly than lighter particles.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
13 May 2026
-
This setup would let researchers detect minute differences in the isotopes’ energy levels by examining nuances in the magnetic field created by each particle’s spinning nucleus, called the nuclear magnetic moment.—
K. R. Callaway,
Scientific American,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
Often transnational agreements are necessary if pipelines pass through several territories and security — something in short supply when Iran has shown no compunction in attacking neighbors’ energy facilities.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The overriding impression of Altman from Farrow and Marantz’s story is of a borderline sociopath; an executive with no compunction about lying to get ahead.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
One risk is that the AI might falter and fail to detect that a person has an actual mental health condition that warrants attention.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
-
With most tropical reefs expected to face conditions like the Gulf’s by 2100—and already faltering under increasingly frequent marine heat waves—that makes the Gulf’s coral a source of valuable genetic information about resilience that could have implications for the rest of the world’s reefs.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scruple.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scruple. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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