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appal

American  
[uh-pawl] / əˈpɔl /

verb (used with object)

Chiefly British.
appalled, appalling
  1. appall.


appal British  
/ əˈpɔːl /

verb

  1. (tr) to fill with horror; shock or dismay

"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

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

The wild child of rock n' roll had found a whole new generation to appal.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 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

Does the thought of it ever appal them?

From With our Fighting Men The story of their faith, courage, endurance in the Great War by William Edward Sellers

"Everyone I have spoken to is appalled by it. There are no positive comments whatsoever. Some people are saying they just wouldn't bother going to watch if the name changes."

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

Francis said she was appalled upon learning the result of the appeal two days into the current semester.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Zimmer had been appalled by Harvard’s actions after the attacks and troubled by the ensuing antisemitism on campus, said people who know him, a time when one of his daughters had been a student there.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

The Yosemite NPS Employees Union said it was "appalled" by the ceding of public lands for private interests, calling the proposed trade "antithetical to what we stand for" as stewards of the park.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

When Stanton’s father learned about his daughter’s speech, he was appalled.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

He should have nothing but support from the bipartisan coalition that deemed the event appalling, discriminatory and contrary to everything Pennsylvania stands for.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

In April, then-health secretary Wes Streeting said the NHS had an "appalling culture of medical misogyny", external where being "ignored, gaslit, humiliated and disrespected, were common experiences for far too many women".

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

He said the idea was appalling — and not just to him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

He also said then that the "appalling atrocity of slavery" stains Britain's history.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

If I got to be so indiscriminate about what I ate, it was not simply because of appalling hunger; it was also plain rush.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

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