Make Your Point > Archived Issues > QUALM

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connect today's word to others: The word qualm has a dramatic history. Some sources trace it back to the Old English cwealm, which meant "torment, disaster, death, or murder." The meaning may have weakened from "torment" to "pain" to "little mental pain," and that's the meaning we use today. To have qualms about something is to have doubts, to have reservations, to have thoughts of "perhaps I shouldn't," to have scr____s. (Can you recall that close synonym of qualms?) (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "QUALM" A qualm is a small feeling of doubt or guilt that you get when you're worried that what you've done (or what you might do) is morally wrong. Pronunciation: KWALM (rhymes with "calm") Part of speech: Noun, the countable kind. We use it most often in the plural: "he has qualms about this," "they refused on the basis of their qualms." Other forms: None are common besides the plural, "qualms," but let's see what else we've got: You can call people "qualmed" if they have qualms: "Rilke felt qualmed and doubtful about using the plural" (The Times Literary Supplement). And if people have no qualms, they're "qualmless," afflicted with "qualmlessness:" "the qualmless Nazi" (Waldo Frank). Although you can also call people and things "qualmy" or "qualmish," interestingly, those adjectives often mean "nauseated:" "The mere smell of it makes one feel qualmy" (Elizabeth Amy Dillwyn); "He felt a qualmish feeling at his center" (William Herbert Deverell). And the nouns that go along with these are "qualminess" and "qualmishness." It makes sense when you consider that a feeling of worrisome guilt--a qualm--is a figurative kind of nausea. How to use it: This word is common, serious, and a bit formal. Talk about people having qualms: "she's having qualms about the argument," "he has qualms about the legalization of marijuana." Often we have qualms about doing something: "She needed Post-it notes and could easily snatch some from work, but she had qualms about it;" "These days I have qualms about correcting ungrammatical signage--is it snobby graffiti?" Although you usually have qualms about something, you can also have qualms regarding something, qualms with something, or qualms in something. Add an adjective, if you like: a minor qualm, a major qualm, a new qualm, a nagging qualm, an ethical qualm, a professional qualm, etc. Finally, notice how common and useful it is to talk about people having few qualms or no qualms, or paying no attention to their qualms: "He pushed his qualms aside and made the purchase." "They suppressed their qualms and carried on with the scheme." "She has zero qualms about spreading those baseless rumors." examples: As a teenager, I had no qualms about downloading free mp3 files from Napster. "Even when I struggled with eating meat and felt actively uncomfortable consuming the flesh of animals, my socialization made it easier to push my qualms aside than parse through my discomfort."    — Stuart McDonald, Salon, 13 January 2019 study it: Explain the meaning of "qualm" without saying "guilty feeling" or "stab of conscience." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "I might (bend the rules in some way), but I'd have too many qualms to _____." Example: "I might drive 65 in a 60, but I'd have too many qualms to push it past 70." before you review, play: Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first. Tidbits and Titles! I provide the tidbits; you provide the title. From our previous issue: Here's a quote from a book: "In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit." And here are some terms and phrases that often appear in that book: beautiful, boy friend, Dear Kitty, downstairs, Germans, happy, hiding, laugh, miserable, night, quarrel, quiet, wonder. What's the book's title? Answer: Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. Try this today: Here's a quote from a book: "Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail." And here are some terms and phrases that often appear in that book: Baker Farm, beauty, blackberry, Concord River, earth, forest, heaven, learned, meadow, morning, red squirrel, snow, thought. What's the book's title? review today's word: 1. The opposite of QUALMED is A. ADEPT. B. MANIFOLD. C. UNSCRUPULOUS. 2. Writing for the New York Times, Steven Lee Myers and Chris Buckley argued that China does not allow its qualms about _____ to _____. A. charitable giving .. affect its traditions B. technological progress .. interfere with its job growth C. international criticism and blowback .. restrain its behavior Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. C