- present participle of appeal.
appealing
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of appealing
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; appeal + -ing 2
Explanation
The adjective appealing describes someone who is able to attract interest or is easy to like. For example, your easy sense of humor and way of making people feel comfortable make you appealing to friends old and new. If you are appealing, people want to be around you. It might be that you are really nice, or a good listener, not to mention have good looks. Actors who are appealing tend to get a lot of parts because filmmakers know audiences will flock to see them, just as an appealing description of a dish on a menu will lead more people to order it. This something is appealing, it is — or will be — popular.
Vocabulary lists containing appealing
Call of Beauty: Synonyms for "Beautiful"
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Workshop 1, Part 2
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Freakonomics
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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.
That’s a big deal, because while the accounts may sound appealing, parents and guardians still have to take an extra step to sign up with the IRS.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 6, 2026
Tottenham's then-head coach Thomas Frank bemoaned the automatic three-match ban, but the club decided against appealing, believing they had no chance of success.
From BBC • Jul. 5, 2026
Signing celebrity athletes from popular sports like basketball has become a key strand of that expansion strategy, boosting credibility abroad while appealing to the many NBA fans in the domestic market.
From Barron's • Jul. 3, 2026
The company has other features that make it an appealing buyout target, including robust cash-flow generation and a base of captive customers with DCC fuel storage tanks on their properties, according to Williams.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026
Of course, quasi-religious talk about mind control is more appealing than a discussion of heat content and conductivity.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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.
