Meaning

A feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear etc..

Definitions by Sense

1. A feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear etc.
2. A sudden sickly feeling; queasiness.
3. (now chiefly in the negative) A prick of the conscience; a moral scruple, a pang of guilt.
4. (archaic, UK, dialectal) Mortality; plague; pestilence.
5. (archaic, UK, dialectal) A calamity or disaster.
6. (intransitive) To have a sickly feeling.

Example Sentences

[W]ho vvould not rather Sleep Quietly upon a Hammock, vvithout either Cares in his Head, or Crudities in his Stomach, then lye Carking upon a Bed of State, vvith the Qualms and Tvvinges that accompany Surfeits and Exceſs?

"Do you have any particular qualms about leaving Pencey?" / "Oh, I have a few qualms, all right. Sure … but not too many. Not yet, anyway.[…]"

Jem’s face showed brief indecision on the ethics of withholding his own dime, but his innate courtesy won and he shifted his dime to his pocket. I did likewise with no qualms.

Opponents of those privatization plans hoped to use Mr. [Neil] Armstrong's qualms as ammunition to block the White House initiatives, and they asked for more public statements.

Questions of bad taste have hung around Dear Evan Hansen since it debuted on Broadway in 2016, though such qualms were mostly drowned out by praise for Platt’s visceral live performance and the catchy Broadway-by-way-of-Christian-rock tunes from wunderkind songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (who are also responsible for the toe-tapping numbers from The Greatest Showman).

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

Word Forms

• qualms
• calm
• qualming
• qualmed

Synonyms for qualm

Related Words

When Should You Use Qualm?

Use qualm when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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