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
Verb
-
Although police still can use less-lethal weapons to contain unruly demonstrators, the city claimed the rules put officers at risk of hesitating in chaotic situations.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2026 -
Survey respondents shared multiple ways that unemployment can have a negative impact including cancelling dates for financial reasons and hesitating to even ask someone out at all.—
Gili Malinsky,
CNBC,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
And his retribution campaign—faltering to this point, to be sure—targeted the chairman of the Federal Reserve, who is now the subject of a Justice Department investigation.—
Jonathan Lemire,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2026
-
The other half sees an economy on the verge of faltering, with rising unemployment, that needs easier money to avoid recession.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
9 Dec. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Scrupling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrupling. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
