1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

scrupling

verb

present participle of scruple
as in hesitating
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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrupling
  1. hesitating
  2. faltering
Verb
  • But experts have worried that doctors are hesitating to offer treatment without an ironclad diagnosis, which clinicians say can take time and increase risks to the mother.
    — Andrea Suozzo, ProPublica, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Fertilizer is often bought months ahead of planting, so hesitating in the fall can mean less goes on the ground in the spring.
    — Jayash Paudel, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of hesitating
Verb
  • The grandees of Gullen have set their hopes on Claire’s bankrolling their faltering community’s recovery.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Late last year, Kushner was called on to help with the faltering talks to end the war in Ukraine.
    — Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of faltering
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

scruples
scrupling
scrupulosity
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Scrupling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrupling. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fungible

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All