Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1400-1500
Language: Old French
Origin: scrupule, from Latin scrupulus 'small sharp stone, cause of mental discomfort', from scrupus 'sharp stone'

scruple

1 noun
     
scru‧ple1 [countable usually plural, uncountable]
a belief about what is right and wrong that prevents you from doing bad things
scruples about doing something
He had no scruples about selling faulty goods to people.
a man with no moral scruples
without scruple
They made thousands of families homeless without scruple.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary