appal

[uh-pawl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR appal ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), ap·palled, ap·pal·ling.

appall

or ap·pal

[uh-pawl]

verb (used with object)

to fill or overcome with horror, consternation, or fear; dismay: He was appalled by the damage from the fire. I am appalled at your mistakes.

Origin of appall

1275–1325; Middle English < Middle French ap(p)allir to grow or make pale, equivalent to a- a-⁵ + pal(l)ir in same sense; see pale¹

Synonyms for appall

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR appall ON THESAURUS.COM

horrify, daunt. See frighten.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for appal

dismay, dishearten, intimidate, frighten, alarm, unnerve, astound, amaze, faze, disconcert, outrage, daunt, awe, petrify, terrify, scare, shock, insult, consternate, shake

Examples from the Web for appal

Historical Examples of appal

The sudden face of death might appal me for a moment, but the fear is over.
The Last Days of Pompeii
Edward George Bulwer-Lytton
The scenes presented were enough to appal the stoutest nerves.
Woman's Work in the Civil War
Linus Pierpont Brockett
The rest of the trail was a puzzle, indeed, but it presently ceased to appal.
The Kindred of the Wild
Charles G. D. Roberts
The scene, however, was still terrific, and sufficient to appal the stoutest heart.
Hildebrand
Anonymous
The thought of death does not appal him, it braces him to work and joy.
The London Mercury, Vol. I, Nos. 1-6, November 1919 to April 1920
Various

British Dictionary definitions for appal

appal

US appall

verb -pals, -palling or -palled or US -palls, -palling or -palled

(tr) to fill with horror; shock or dismay

Word Origin for appal

C14: from Old French appalir to turn pale

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

Word Origin and History for appal

appall

also appal, early 14c., "to fade;" c.1400, "to grow pale," from Old French apalir "become or make pale," from a- "to" (see ad-) + palir "grow pale," from Latin pallere (see pallor). Meaning "cause dismay or shock," is 1530s. Related: Appalled; appalling.