appalling
Americanadjective
adjective
-
causing extreme dismay, horror, or revulsion
-
very bad
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of appalling
Explanation
Something that is appalling is awful or horrible, causing dismay or disgust. It's definitely not appealing. Like so many things, people have different opinions on what is appalling. Most people find the idea of children living in poverty appalling. Just about everyone thinks a vicious "sport" like dog-fighting is appalling. If you're rich, paying a lot of taxes might be appalling. A football announcer might say that a sloppy play was appalling. Your parents might say the state of your room is appalling. This word can fit just about any situation that disgusts you.
Vocabulary lists containing appalling
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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Brave New World
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Appalling headlines ricochet around the internet, stocks are skidding, wealth is eroding and the mood on Wall Street has rarely been gloomier.
From Reuters • Oct. 25, 2022
“Might be legal but certainly not moral. Appalling, really.”
From Washington Times • Jun. 28, 2022
"Appalling" and "ghastly" said Mark Butcher, the former England batter.
From BBC • Jan. 16, 2022
Appalling, diseased behaviour has never sounded as appealing as it does on Shine a Light or Torn and Frayed; the Stones were never more convincing as a country band than on Sweet Virginia.
From The Guardian • May 17, 2018
Appalling indications remained of the power expended by these tremendous forces of nature.
From David Crockett His Life and Adventures by Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
