qualm

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Pronunciation

• (America) IPA: /kwɑm/, /kwɔm/, /kwɑlm/
• (RP) IPA: /kwɑːm/, /kwɔːm/

Noun

qualm (plural qualms)

1. A feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear etc. [from 16th c.]
2. A sudden sickly feeling; queasiness. [from 16th c.]
3. A prick of the conscience; a moral scruple, a pang of guilt. (Now often in negative constructions.) [from 17th c.]

   This lawyer has no qualms about saving people who are on the wrong side of the law.

4. (archaic, UK dialectal) Mortality; plague; pestilence.
5. (archaic, UK dialectal) A calamity or disaster.

Synonyms

• compunction
• misgiving
• scruple
• uneasy
• See Thesaurus:apprehension

Translations

• Italian: dubbio, apprensione, paura
• Portuguese: apreensão, receio
• Russian: сомне́ние

Translations

• Portuguese: mal-estar
• Russian: тошнота́

Translations

• French: scrupule
• German: Gewissensbisse
• Italian: scrupolo
• Portuguese: escrúpulo
• Russian: угрызе́ния со́вести
• Spanish: escrúpulo

Verb

qualm (qualms, present participle qualming; past and past participle qualmed)

1. (intransitive) To have a sickly feeling.

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