appalling
Americanadjective
adjective
-
causing extreme dismay, horror, or revulsion
-
very bad
Other Word 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, 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 in its sloppy arguments and unrelenting and unwarranted negativity, its most infuriating flaw is its abysmal failure to get the most basic facts right.
From Washington Post • Dec. 28, 2017
Appalling though he would have been as a guest in club or restaurant, it is hardly less painful to think of him as a host there.
From And Even Now by Beerbohm, Max, Sir
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.
