qualm
noun/kwɑːm/, /kwɔːm/
/kwɑːm/, /kwɔːm/
[usually plural]- qualm (about something) a feeling of doubt or worry about whether what you are doing is right synonym misgiving
- He had been working very hard so he had no qualms about taking a few days off.
- They broke the law without a qualm.
Word Originearly 16th cent. (in the sense ‘momentary sick feeling’): perhaps related to Old English cw(e)alm ‘pain’, of Germanic origin.Definitions on the go
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qualm