different between scruple vs misgiving

English

Etymology

From Old French scrupule, from Latin scr?pulus (“(literally) a small sharp or pointed stone; the twenty-fourth part of an ounce; uneasiness of mind, anxiety, doubt, trouble; scruple”), diminutive of scr?pus (“a rough or sharp stone; anxiety, uneasiness”); perhaps akin to Ancient Greek ?????? (skúros, “the chippings of stone”), from ????? (xurón, “razor”), from ??? (xú?, “to scrape”), from Proto-Indo-European *ksunyo-.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?sk?u?p?l/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?sk?up?l/
• Rhymes: -u?p?l
• Hyphenation: scru?ple

Noun

scruple (plural scruples)

1. (pharmacy) A weight of ¹?₂₈₈ of a pound, that is, twenty grains or one third of a dram, about 1.3 grams (symbol: ?).

   Synonym: (abbreviation) s.ap.
2. (obsolete, by extension) A very small quantity; a particle.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:modicum
3. (obsolete) A doubt or uncertainty concerning a matter of fact; intellectual perplexity.
4. Hesitation to act from the difficulty of determining what is right or expedient; doubt, hesitation or unwillingness due to motives of conscience.
5. A Hebrew unit of time equal to ¹?₁₀₈₀ hour.

Derived terms

• scrupleless
• scrupulosity
• scrupulous
• scrupulously
• scrupulousness
• unscrupulous
• unscrupulously
• unscrupulousness

Translations

Verb

scruple (third-person singular simple present scruples, present participle scrupling, simple past and past participle scrupled)

1. (intransitive) To hesitate or be reluctant to act due to considerations of conscience or expedience.
2. (intransitive) To excite scruples in; to cause to scruple.
3. (transitive) To regard with suspicion; to question.
4. (intransitive, obsolete) To question the truth of (a fact, etc.); to doubt; to hesitate to believe, to question.

Translations

Further reading

• conscience on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• scruple in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• scruple in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Anagrams

• curples

English

Etymology

From misgive , from mis- +? give, from Middle English give (“suggest, given”). Compare given and what gives.

Noun

misgiving (plural misgivings)

1. doubt, apprehension, a feeling of dread

Usage notes

Almost always used in the plural.

Synonyms

• doubt
• See Thesaurus:apprehension

Translations

References

Further reading

• misgiving in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• misgiving in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.