scruple
To hesitate or be reluctant to act due to considerations of conscience or expedienceTo hesitate or be reluctant to act due to considerations of conscience or expedience.
Meaning
4 senses(intransitive)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.
стесня́тьсяstesnjátʹsja, совеститьсяsovestitʹsja, не решаться
(intransitive)To excite scruples in; to cause to scruple.
raise scruples
(transitive)To regard with suspicion; to question.
(intransitive, obsolete)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.
Examples
15 sentencesHe has no scruples about lying.
ruОн не стесняется врать. — Biga
I admire your scruples, Tom.
He tried to overcome his scruples.
deEr versuchte, seine Skrupel zu überwinden. — al_ex_an_der
Some people have no scruples whatsoever.
deManche Menschen haben keinerlei Skrupel. — al_ex_an_der
Some people are completely without scruple.
deManche Menschen haben keinerlei Skrupel. — al_ex_an_der
Translations
3 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
From Old French scrupule, from Latin scrūpulus (“(literally) a small sharp or pointed stonFrom 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.
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Forms
scruples, scrupling, scrupled, scrupledLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle