Definition of "scruple" in English

noun

1. Hesitation to act from the difficulty of determining what is right or expedient; doubt, hesitation or unwillingness due to motives of conscience; moral qualm.

2. (pharmacy) A weight of ¹⁄₂₈₈ of a pound, that is, twenty grains or one third of a dram, about 1.3 grams (symbol: ℈).

3. A Hebrew unit of time equal to ¹⁄₁₀₈₀ hour.

4. (obsolete, by extension) A very small quantity; a particle.

5. (obsolete) A doubt or uncertainty concerning a matter of fact; intellectual perplexity.

verb

1. (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.

2. (intransitive) To excite scruples in; to cause to scruple.

3. (transitive) To regard with suspicion; to question.

4. (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.