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appalling

[uh-paw-ling]
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR appalling ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

causing dismay or horror: an appalling accident; an appalling lack of manners.

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RELATED WORDS

dreadful, horrific, alarming, harrowing, astounding, terrible, hideous, frightful, ghastly, dire, horrible, awful, shocking, frightening, terrifying, disheartening, heavy, intimidating, bad, gross

Nearby words

  1. appalachian spring,
  2. appalachian tea,
  3. appalachian trail,
  4. appall,
  5. appalled,
  6. appaloosa,
  7. appanage,
  8. appar.,
  9. apparat,
  10. apparatchik

Origin of appalling

First recorded in 1810–20; appall + -ing2
Related formsap·pall·ing·ly, adverbun·ap·pall·ing, adjectiveun·ap·pall·ing·ly, adverb

appal

[uh-pawl]

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

appall.

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

Examples from the Web for appalling

British Dictionary definitions for appalling

appalling

adjective

causing extreme dismay, horror, or revulsion
very bad
Derived Formsappallingly, adverb

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 appalling
adj.

1620s, present participle adjective from appall. Colloquial weakened sense of "distasteful" is attested from 1919.

appall

v.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper