scruples vs ethical motive

scruples and ethical motive both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
scruples	Yes	No	No	No
ethical motive	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, ethical motive is a hypernym of scruples; that is, ethical motive is a word with a broader meaning than scruples:

scruples: motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions
ethical motive: motivation based on ideas of right and wrong

Other hypernyms of scruples include ethics, morality, morals.

scruples (noun)	ethical motive (noun)
motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions	motivation based on ideas of right and wrong