qualm

qualm
qualm [kwäm]
n.
[ME qualme < OE cwealm, death, disaster (akin to Ger qual, pain, Swed kvalm, nausea) < base of cwellan, to kill (see QUELL): all extant senses show melioration of the orig. meaning]
1. a sudden, brief feeling of sickness, faintness, or nausea
2. a sudden feeling of uneasiness or doubt; misgiving
3. a twinge of conscience; scruple
SYN.- QUALM implies a painful feeling of uneasiness arising from a consciousness that one is or may be acting wrongly [he had qualms about having cheated on the test ]; SCRUPLE implies doubt or hesitation arising from difficulty in deciding what is right, proper, just, etc. [to break a promise without scruple]; COMPUNCTION implies a twinge of conscience for wrongdoing, now often for a slight offense [to have no compunctions about telling a white lie ]; MISGIVING implies a disturbed state of mind resulting from a loss of confidence as to whether one is doing what is right [misgivings of conscience ]

English World dictionary. . 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР
Synonyms:
, , , / (of the stomach), / (of conscience), , , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Qualm — Qualm, n. [AS. cwealm death, slaughter, pestilence, akin to OS. & OHG. qualm. See {Quail} to cower.] 1. Sickness; disease; pestilence; death. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] thousand slain and not of qualm ystorve [dead]. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 2. A… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • qualm — qualm; qualm·ish; qualm·ish·ly; qualm·ish·ness; …   English syllables

  • qualm — qualm, scruple, compunction, demur can all denote a feeling of doubt or hesitation as to the rightness or wisdom of something one is doing or is about to do. Qualm implies an uneasy, often a sickening, sensation that one is not following the… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Qualm — Sm std. (16. Jh., twalm 8. Jh.) Stammwort. Übernommen aus dem Niederdeutschen. Die nächstliegende Erklärung ist ein Anschluß an quellen, also das Hervorquellende ; es ist aber zu beachten, daß Wörter dieser Bedeutung in den indogermanischen… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Qualm — 1) dicker Dampf od. Rauch; 2) das bes. in nassen Jahren hervorquellende od. an einem Ort sich sammelnde Wasser; 3) so v.w. Ekel, Betäubung; 4) was Unlust, Verwirrung verursacht …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • qualm — I noun anxiety, apprehension, apprehensiveness, compunction, concern, diffidence, disquiet, distrust, doubt, doubtfulness, dubiety, dubiousness, equivocalness, feeling of uncertainty, foreboding, hesitance, hesitancy, hesitation, incertitude,… …   Law dictionary

  • qualm — [kwa:m US kwa:m, kwa:lm] n [C usually plural] a feeling of slight worry or doubt because you are not sure that what you are doing is right ▪ Despite my qualms, I took the job. ▪ The manager has no qualms about dropping players who do not perform… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • qualm — (n.) O.E. cwealm (W.Saxon) death, disaster, plague, utcualm (Anglian) utter destruction, related to cwellan to kill, cwelan to die (see QUELL (Cf. quell)). Sense softened to feeling of faintness 1520s; meaning uneasiness, doubt is from 1550s;… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Qualm — (der) …   Kölsch Dialekt Lexikon

  • Qualm — Qualm: Der in hochd. Texten seit dem 16. Jh. bezeugte Ausdruck für »‹dicker› Rauch« stammt aus dem Niederd. Mnd. qual‹le›m »Dunst, Dampf, Rauch« gehört wahrscheinlich im Sinne von »Hervorquellendes« zu der Wortgruppe von ↑ quellen. – Abl.:… …   Das Herkunftswörterbuch

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”