appal
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Etymology
Origin of appal
C14: from Old French appalir to turn pale
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.
See Examples For:
Ruth Jones, Labour MP for Newport West, added that the situation "continued to appal".
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2022
"I know this will shock and appal the local community and I want to assure them we will do all we can to identify and bring to justice those responsible."
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2022
Then, the plan held, overreaction from these groups would appal “normies”, or normal, average Americans.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 15, 2018
"That a man can be targeted when he is attending a hospital to visit his wife and newly born son continues to appal all right-minded members of society."
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2013
They show us what we all were and thus appal us; but they are as little responsible on this account as is a piece of granite for being granite.
From Human, All Too Human A Book for Free Spirits by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
But Lissie Harper said that she was "beyond appalled and bristling with anger to hear that Andrew's killers are soon to be free to roam the streets".
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
"It's like their lives didn't even matter. We're just really appalled by it all," her mother Michelle Jones told the ABC.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
Many Argentines say they, too, are appalled by such comments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
When President Ulysses S. Grant sent the Declaration of Independence to Philadelphia to be displayed, the public was appalled by its condition, which led the government to establish the National Archives.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
He was appalled by children’s poor singing quality, and began to create teaching methods to improve it.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Prosecutors said Bush ran a "shambolic and chaotic" operation at the Hessle Road premises and his "appalling" offending had caused "extreme emotional pain, anguish and upset".
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
"At that point, I told the people with me let's go there for work... let's try our luck too," she added, saying she wanted to leave for Europe because she works "under appalling conditions".
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Hilliard said Bush was motivated by "financial greed" and was "so preoccupied with his own enrichment" he allowed the site to descend into an "appalling" state.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
"It's appalling that online marketplaces continue to fail to prevent dangerous products from reaching consumers, despite countless warnings."
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
It must have been something absolutely appalling and gruesome otherwise she would have told me about it.
From "The Witches" by Roald Dahl
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.
