scruple
Short definition from Wiktionary
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.
- A weight of ¹⁄₂₈₈ of a pound, that is, twenty grains or one third of a dram, about 1.3 grams (symbol: ℈).
- A Hebrew unit of time equal to ¹⁄₁₀₈₀ hour.
- A very small quantity; a particle.
- A doubt or uncertainty concerning a matter of fact; intellectual perplexity.
Verb
- To hesitate or be reluctant to act due to considerations of conscience or expedience.
- To excite scruples in; to cause to scruple.
- To regard with suspicion; to question.
- To question the truth of (a fact, etc.); to doubt; to hesitate to believe, to question.
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