scruple
Syllables: scru·pleUK/ˈskɹuːpəl//ˈskɹupəl/
scruple noun: hesitation to act from the difficulty of determining what is right or expedient; doubt, hesitation or unwillingness due to motives of conscience; moral qualm.
Noun
scruple (plural scruples)
- Hesitation to act from the difficulty of determining what is right or expedient; doubt, hesitation or unwillingness due to motives of conscience; moral qualm.
- Before her flew Affliction, girt in ſtorms, / Gaſht all with guſhing wounds; and all the formes / Of bane, and miſerie, frowning in her face; / Whom Tyrannie, and Iniuſtice, had in Chace; / Grimme Perſecution, Pouertie, and Shame; / Detraction, Enuie, foule Mishap and lame; / Scruple of Conſcience...1609, Geo[rge] Chapman, “Conclusio”, in Evthymiæ Raptvs; or The Teares of Peace: With Interlocutions, London: Printed by H. L. for Rich[ard] Bonian, and H. Walley, and are to be solde at the...
- [U]ntil the Commonwealth [of England] torture was constantly used as an instrument of evidence in the investigation of offences, whether municipal or political, without scruple, and without question as to its legality.1837, David Jardine, A Reading on the Use of Torture in the Criminal Law of England previously to the Commonwealth; Delivered at New Inn Hall in Michaelmas Term, 1836, by Appointment of the...
- A weight of ¹⁄₂₈₈ of a pound, that is, twenty grains or one third of a dram, about 1.3 grams (symbol: ℈).
- The Oyle ſerueth in many operations, and ſpecially in all colde diſeaſes, if they be inwardly, give thereof euerye morning one ſcruple to drinke, and if they be outward annoynt.1580, Leonardo Fioravanti, “To Make Oyle of Frankensence”, in John Hester, transl., A Short Discours of the Excellent Doctour and Knight, Maister Leonardo Phioravanti Bolognese vppon Chirurgerie....
- Bezoar (Horſe) called Hypolites, excites Sweat, reſiſts Poiſon, kills the Worms, and ſtops a Looſeneſs; the Doſe is from half a Scruple to two Scruples.1725, [Noël] Chomel, “BEZOAR-STONE”, in R[ichard] Bradley, editor, Dictionaire Oeconomique: Or, The Family Dictionary. […], volume I (A–H), London: […] D[aniel] Midwinter, […], →OCLC
- Synonyms:
- s.ap.
- A Hebrew unit of time equal to ¹⁄₁₀₈₀ hour.
- If it be ask'd why the Jews divide the Hour into 1080 Scruples, the Author of the Neomeniæ ſet forth by Munſter gives this reaſon fo it, becauſe there is no number that is diviſible into ſo many ſorts as this of 1080 is; for it may be divided by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, &c.1704, Giles Strauchius [i.e., Aegidius Strauch II], “Of Minutes, Scruples and Moments”, in Richard Sault, transl., Breviarium Chronologicum. Or A Treatise Describing the Terms and Most Celebrated...
- The Mahometan year consists of 12 lunar months, each containing 29 days, 12 hours and 792 scruples; (1080 scruples = 1 hour) so that the year contains 354 days, 8 hours and 864 scruples.[1812, Thomas Watson, “Chronology”, in An Useful Compendium of Many Important and Curious Branches of Science and General Knowledge, Digested, Principally, in Plain and Instructive Tables, to which...
- A very small quantity; a particle.
- Why euery thing adheres togither, that no dramme of a ſcruple, no ſcruple of a ſcruple, no obſtacle, no incredulous or unſafe circumſtance: What can be ſaide? Nothing that can be, can come betweene me, and the full proſpect of my hopes.c. 1600–1601, William Shakespeare, “Tvvelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies, London: Printed...
- A doubt or uncertainty concerning a matter of fact; intellectual perplexity.
- There aroſe a Scruple, nay, it amount to a Queſtion, whether to attempt an Eſcape from my Patron, one that ſo dearly Loved me, ſo fairly bought me, were juſtifiable before God and Men?1676, William Okeley, “Sect. VIII. The Contrivance for Our Escape, the Persons Acquainted with It, and also Those that were Engaged in it; Some Debates about Leaving My Patron.”, in Eben-ezer: Or, A...
Verb
scruple (third-person singular simple present scruples, present participle scrupling, simple past and past participle scrupled)
- To hesitate or be reluctant to act due to considerations of conscience or expedience.
- They wouldn't scruple to cheat us if given the opportunity.
- On that day vvherein vve receive the Sacrament, vve are often over-precize, ſcrupling to ſay, or do, thoſe things vvhich lavvfully vve may. But vve, vvho are more then Curious that day, are not ſo much as Carefull the next. And too often, (vvhat ſhall I ſay) go on in ſinne, up to the Anckles, yea...1645, Thomas Fuller, “Mixt Contemplations”, in Good Thoughts in Bad Times, […], Exeter, Devon: […] Thomas Hunt, →OCLC, section III, pages 199–200
- To excite scruples in; to cause to scruple.
- It is granted indeed before that time, the Supream power was in Him [Charles I of England], and we were all his Subjects: and then perhaps ſome might Scruple to cut his throat, for there were lawes then in force against Regicides, but now ſince his Reſignation, (for ſo in our Tenents we hold this...1648, Edw[ard] Symmons, “Sect. IV. 1. The Nature of Their Charge Opened. 2. Their Vilanous and Bloudy Scope therein, Clearely Evidenced, and Proved. 3. How Perfectly in Their Tenents They Hold with...
- To regard with suspicion; to question.
- As for the writings of Heathen authors, unleſſe they were plaine invectives againſt Chriſtianity, as thoſe of Porphyrius and Proclus, they met with no interdict that can be cited, till about the year 400, in a Carthaginian Councel, wherein Biſhops themſelves were forbid to read the Books of...1644, John Milton, Areopagitica; a Speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Vnlicenc’d Printing, to the Parliament of England, London: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 7
- And notwithſtanding all the clamours of their inſulting brethren, they were ſatisfied that thoſe who were moſt forward for this declaration [that it was unlawful to take arms against the king], and moſt fierce in condemning thoſe who ſcrupled it, would not keep to it, if at any time they found...1778, Edmund Calamy, “Introduction”, in Samuel Palmer, editor, The Nonconformist’s Memorial: Being an Account of the Ministers, who were Ejected or Silenced after the Restoration, Particularly by the...
- To question the truth of (a fact, etc.); to doubt; to hesitate to believe, to question.
- I do not scruple to admit that all the Earth seeth but only half of the Moon.
scruple meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
scruple in Tamil
- ஐயுணர்வு, சந்தேக உணர்வு
scruple in Urdu
- scruple
- اشتباہ iśtibāh
scruple in Bengali
- বিবেকের দংশন, দ্বিধা
scruple in Malayalam
- ഒരു ചെറിയ തൂക്കം, ശങ്കമനസ്സാക്ഷിക്കുത്തുമൂലം വിമുഖനാവുക, തയ്യാറല്ലാതിരിക്കുക, വിസമ്മതിക്കുക
More languagesFewer languages
- scruple in Kannada
- ಚೂರು, ಅರೆಮರಿಕೆ, ಧರ್ಮಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮತೆ, ನೀತಿ ಪರಿಜ್ಞಾನ
- scruple in Thai
- ความลังเลใจ
Examples of scruple in a sentence
- But [John] Bunyan's notions of good and evil had been learned in a very different school; and he was made miserable by the conflict between his tastes and his scruples.1857, Thomas Babington Macaulay, “John Bunyan”, in Biographical Essays. … Frederic the Great.—Bunyan.—Goldsmith.—Johnson.—Barère...
- Apparently you're the only one in Casablanca with less scruples than I.1942, Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch, Casablanca, spoken by Captain Renault (Claude Rains):
- Marcus Empiricus, a Roma physician, prescribed three scruples of cress, three of red onion, three of pine seed, three of Indian nard, for impotence.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 70:
- The most ancient hour was divided into 1,080 scruples.1864 July 23, George Greenwood, “East of the Jordan”, in The Athenæum: Journal of English and Foreign Literature, Science, and the Fine...
Synonyms of scruple
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of scruple
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | scruples |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | scruples |
| present participle | scrupling |
| past participle | scrupled |
| past | scrupled |
Origin of scruple
From Old French scrupule, from Latin scrūpulus (“(literally) a small sharp or pointed stone; uneasiness of mind, anxiety, doubt, trouble; scruple”) and scrūpulum (“one twenty-fourth of an ounce”), diminutives of scrūpus (“a rough or sharp stone; anxiety, uneasiness”); perhaps akin to Ancient Greek σκύρος (skúros, “the chippings of stone”), from ξυρόν (xurón, “razor”), from ξύω (xúō, “to scrape”), from Proto-Indo-European *ksew-. Doublet of escropulo and escrupulo.
Words formed from scruple
Words that rhyme with scruple
Questions about scruple
- What does scruple mean?
- Scruple means hesitation to act from the difficulty of determining what is right or expedient; doubt, hesitation or unwillingness due to motives of conscience; moral qualm.
- What is scruple in Tamil?
- Scruple in Tamil is ஐயுணர்வு, சந்தேக உணர்வு. See Scruple meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use scruple in a sentence?
- But [John] Bunyan's notions of good and evil had been learned in a very different school; and he was made miserable by the conflict between his tastes and his scruples.
- What part of speech is scruple?
- Scruple can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce scruple?
- Scruple is pronounced /ˈskɹuːpəl/ (UK).
- What is the plural of scruple?
- The plural of scruple is scruples.
Words near scruple in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: scruple (page history and authors); scruple (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); اشتباہ (Urdu) (page history and authors); scruple (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); scruple (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); scruple (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-scruple.ogg, en-au-scruple.ogg.
Cite this entry: “scruple.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/scruple. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.