aghast

[ uh-gast, uh-gahst ]

See synonyms for aghast on Thesaurus.com

adjective

struck with overwhelming shock or amazement; filled with sudden fright or horror: They stood aghast at the sight of the plane crashing.

Origin of aghast

1225–75; Middle English agast frightened, past participle of agasten, equivalent to a-a-³ + gasten,Old English gǣstan to frighten, earlier *gāstjan<Germanic causative *gaistjan;see ghost

Words Nearby aghast

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use aghast in a sentence

Those avatars of hedonism, The Europeans, are aghast at discovering that the average American vacation lasts for just 4.1 days.
Obama’s Extravagant Summer Break? More Like, America’s Vacation-Deficit Disorder | Clive Irving | August 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Holland was well aware, though, that her feminist friends were aghast at her career choice.
Porn's Behind-the-Camera Feminists | Emily Shire | February 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
She recalls that her father was aghast when somebody asked him if he had treated King differently than he might another patient.
The Black and White Men Who Saved Martin Luther King’s Life | Michael Daly | January 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Everyone is aghast by the actors who are eventually cast in the lead roles.
The Most Anticipated Culture Events of 2014: ‘Inherent Vice,’ ‘Divergent,’ and More | | January 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
We witnessed a world aghast at the division and partisanship that is destroying Washington just a few weeks ago.
Goodbye, Blue: A Post-Obama Democratic Doctrine | Doug Schoen, Jessica Tarlov | November 15, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

Consequently the horrified spectators, having for a moment looked on aghast, fled precipitately from the room.
Asbestos | Robert H. Jones
It sent a shiver through me, and even old Piegan stood aghast at the malevolent determination of the man.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
Then she showed of what she was capable, and the Colonel looked on aghast, wondering what he should do when Jake was gone.
The Cromptons | Mary J. Holmes
To say that the party looked aghast at this sudden catastrophe, would be to give but a feeble idea of the state of their minds.
The Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands | R.M. Ballantyne
They paused, aghast, and they turned ashen; and then in the mind of each arose the same explanation of this phenomenon.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for aghast

aghast

/ (əˈɡɑːst) /

adjective

(postpositive) overcome with amazement or horror

Origin of aghast

C13: agast, from Old English gæstan to frighten. The spelling with gh is on the model of ghastly

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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