qualm

• POS: Noun

CIDE DICTIONARY

qualm, n. [AS. cwealm death, slaughter, pestilence, akin to OS. & OHG. qualm. See Quail to cower.].

•  Sickness; disease; pestilence; death.  [1913 Webster]

  " thousand slain and not of qualm ystorve [dead]."  [1913 Webster]
•  A sudden attack of illness, faintness, or pain; an agony.  Milton.  [1913 Webster]
•  Especially, a sudden sensation of nausea.  [1913 Webster]

  "For who, without a qualm, hath ever looked
  On holy garbage, though by Homer cooked?"  [1913 Webster]
•  A prick or scruple of conscience; uneasiness of conscience; compunction.  Dryden.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

qualm, n.
1 a misgiving; an uneasy doubt esp. about one's own conduct.
2 a scruple of conscience.
3 a momentary faint or sick feeling.

Derivative

qualmish adj.

Etymology

16th c.: orig. uncert.

THESAURUS

qualm

agitation, airsickness, all-overs, anxiety, apprehension, apprehensiveness, bashfulness, beef, better self, bitch, boggle, boggling, boycott, car sickness, challenge, complaint, compunction, concern, conscience, conscientiousness, conviction, demonstration, demur, demurral, demurrer, diffidence, disinclination, doubt, exception, expostulation, falter, faltering, fastidiousness, foreboding, funny feeling, grievance, grievance committee, hesitance, hesitancy, hesitation, howl, impatience, indignation meeting, insecurity, kick, mal de mer, march, meticulousness, misgiving, mistrust, modesty, motion sickness, nausea, nervousness, nonviolent protest, objection, overconscientiousness, overscrupulousness, pang, pangs, pangs of conscience, pause, perturbation, picketing, point of honor, presentiment, pricking of heart, protest, protest demonstration, protestation, punctilio, punctiliousness, qualm of conscience, qualmishness, qualms, queasiness, rally, recoil, reluctance, remonstrance, remonstration, scruple, scruples, scrupulosity, scrupulousness, seasickness, second thought, shrinking, shyness, sit-in, squawk, squeamishness, stickling, strike, suspicion, teach-in, throes, touch of conscience, twinge, twinge of conscience, uncertainty, unease, uneasiness, unwillingness, voice of conscience, vomiting, worry

ROGET THESAURUS

qualm

Unwillingness

N unwillingness, indisposition, indisposedness, disinclination, aversation, nolleity, nolition, renitence, renitency, reluctance, indifference, backwardness, slowness, want of alacrity, want of readiness, indocility, scrupulousness, scrupulosity, qualms of conscience, twinge of conscience, delicacy, demur, scruple, qualm, shrinking, recoil, hesitation, fastidiousness, averseness, dissent, refusal, unwilling, not in the vein, loth, loath, shy of, disinclined, indisposed, averse, reluctant, not content, adverse, laggard, backward, remiss, slack, slow to, indifferent, scrupulous, squeamish, repugnant, restiff, restive, demurring, unconsenting, involuntary, unwillingly, grudgingly, with a heavy heart, with a bad, with an ill grace, against one's wishes, against one's will, against the grain, sore against one's wishes, sore against one's will, sore against one's grain, invita Minerva, a contre caeur, malgre soi, in spite of one's teeth, in spite of oneself, nolens volens, perforce, under protest, no, not for the world, far be it from me.

Fear

N fear, timidity, diffidence, want of confidence, apprehensiveness, fearfulness, solicitude, anxiety, care, apprehension, misgiving, feeze, mistrust, suspicion, qualm, hesitation, nervousness, restlessness, inquietude, disquietude, worry, concern, batophobia, heartquake, flutter, trepidation, fear and trembling, perturbation, tremor, quivering, shaking, trembling, throbbing heart, palpitation, ague fit, cold sweat, abject fear, mortal funk, heartsinking, despondency, despair, fright, affright, affrightment, boof alarm, dread, awe, terror, horror, dismay, consternation, panic, scare, stampede (of horses), intimidation, terrorism, reign of terror, bug bear, bugaboo, scarecrow, hobgoblin, nightmare, Gorgon, mormo, ogre, Hurlothrumbo, raw head and bloody bones, fee-faw-fum, bete noire, enfant terrible, alarmist, fearing, frightened, in fear, in a fright, haunted with the fear of, afeard, afraid, fearful, timid, timorous, nervous, diffident, coy, faint- hearted, tremulous, shaky, afraid of one's shadow, apprehensive, restless, fidgety, more frightened than hurt, aghast, awe-stricken, horror-stricken, terror-stricken, panic- stricken, awestruck, awe-stricken, horror-struck, frightened to death, white as a sheet, pale, pale as a ghost, pale as death, pale as ashes, breathless, in hysterics, inspiring fear, alarming, formidable, redoubtable, perilous, portentous, fearful, dread, dreadful, fell, dire, direful, shocking, terrible, terrific, tremendous, horrid, horrible, horrific, ghastly, awful, awe-inspiring, revolting, Gorgonian, in terrorem, Int, angels and ministers of grace defend us!, ante tubam trepidat, horresco referens, one's heart failing one, obstupui steteruntque comae et vox faucibus haesit, a dagger of the mind, expertus metuit, fain would I climb but that I fear to fall, fear is the parent of cruelty, Gorgons and hydras and chimeras dire, omnia tuta timens, our fears do make us traitors.

Doubt

N unbelief doubt, unbelief, disbelief, misbelief, discredit, miscreance, infidelity, dissent, change of opinion, retraction, doubt, skepticism, scepticism, misgiving, demure, distrust, mistrust, cynicism, misdoubt, suspicion, jealousy, scruple, qualm, onus probandi, incredibility, incredibleness, incredulity, doubter, skeptic, cynic, unbeliever, unbelieving, skeptical, sceptical, incredulous as to, skeptical as to, distrustful as to, shy as to, suspicious of, doubting, doubtful, disputable, unworthy of, undeserving of belief, questionable, suspect, suspicious, open to suspicion, open to doubt, staggering, hard to believe, incredible, unbelievable, not to be believed, inconceivable, impossible, fallible, undemonstrable, controvertible, cum grano salis, with a grain of salt, with grains of allowance, fronti nulla fides, nimium ne crede colori, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes, I fear the Greeks even when bearing gifts, beware of Greeks bearing gifts, credat Judaeus Apella, let those believe who may, ad tristem partem stenua est suspicio.