qualm
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
qualm
- /kwɑːm/ UK
- /kwɔːm/ UK
- /kwɑ(l)m/ US
- /kwɔ(l)m/ US
- /kwæm/ US, obsolete
Rhymes with -ɑːm, -ɔːm, -ɑːlm
Where it comes from
Perhaps from Middle English qualm, cwalm (“death, sickness, plague”), which is from Old English cwealm (West Saxon: "death, disaster, plague"), ūtcualm (Anglian: "utter destruction"), from Proto-West Germanic *kwalm (“killing, death, destruction”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to stick, pierce; pain, injury, death”), whence also quell. Although the sense development is possible, this has the problem that there are no attestations in intermediate senses before the appearance of "pang of apprehension, etc." in the 16th century. The alternative etymology is from Dutch kwalm or German Qualm (“steam, vapor, mist”) earlier “daze, stupefaction”, which is from the root of German quellen (“to stream, well up”). The sense “feeling of faintness” is from 1530; “uneasiness, doubt” from 1553; “scruple of conscience” from 1649.
noun qualms · calm
- A feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear etc. [W]ho vvould not rather Sleep Quietly upon a Hammock, vvithout either Cares in his Head, or Crudities in his Stomach, then lye Carking upon a Bed of State, vvith the Qualms and Tvvinges that accompany Surfeits and Exceſs?
- A sudden sickly feeling; queasiness.
- A prick of the conscience; a moral scruple, a pang of guilt. This lawyer has no qualms about saving people who are on the wrong side of the law.
- Mortality; plague; pestilence.
- A calamity or disaster.
Similar: compunction, misgiving, scruple, unease, uneasiness, apprehension
verb qualms · qualming · qualmed · calm
- To have a sickly feeling.
Thesaurus
noun
Similar: compunction, misgiving, scruple, unease, uneasiness, apprehension
Translations
Every language
noun sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
| Español | reparo, renuencia, reaciedad |
|---|---|
| Português | apreensão, receio |
| Français | appréhension |
| Italiano | dubbio, apprensione, paura |
| Русский | сомне́ние somnénije, расте́рянность rastérjannostʹ |
noun sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
| Español | reparo |
|---|---|
| Português | mal-estar |
| Română | greață |
| Русский | тошнота́ tošnotá |
noun prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
| Português | escrúpulo |
|---|---|
| Français | scrupule |
| Deutsch | Gewissensbisse |
| Italiano | scrupolo |
| Română | scrupul, compuncțiune |
| Русский | угрызе́ния со́вести ugryzénija sóvesti |
Talk about this word "qualm." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/qualm. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. qualm. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/qualm "qualm." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/qualm.Cite this
@misc{qualm_2026,
title = {qualm},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/qualm},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
