qualm
KWAHMnounMeaning a sudden uneasy feeling, especially a doubt about whether something is right
Memory hook QU + CALM: calm, with a QUestion. Zoe reaches calmly for the cookie jar before dinner, then pauses: “Should I?” That little twinge of doubt is a qualm.
Rosa had no qualms about eating the last cookie; she had baked them all herself.
In context Lila agreed to keep her friend’s secret, but later she felt a qualm: what if staying quiet meant that someone got hurt?
Similar doubt, misgiving, scruple, reservation
Opposite certainty, confidence