scruple
a small moral hesitation or principle
Root
- scrup / scruple: small sharp pebble, moral hesitation, or prick of conscience
Other words with the scrup / scruple root
- scrupulous: careful, principled, and unwilling to do what feels morally wrong
- unscrupulous: dishonest because moral limits do not stop the person
A scruple is the pebble of conscience: a small inner check that makes you pause before doing something wrong.
He had no scruple about copying the answer, which made his apology hard to trust.
Scruple is the doorway into scrupulous. It is not a loud ethical speech; it is the small inner resistance that says, wait, this may be wrong.