appealing
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived 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.
Coupang said Thursday that it would further strengthen its data-protection system and work to restore customer trust, while hinting at appealing the commission’s decision.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
And there’s something appealing about an outsider crashing City Hall, which is way too beholden to sclerotic lifers who can be as clueless about what the city needs as Pratt turned out to be.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
By contrast, GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound are already being used by millions of Americans, making them an especially appealing area for future prevention research.
From Science Daily • Jun. 6, 2026
They have a chef in residence and an R&D culinary innovation kitchen to ensure that their food experiments are as appealing to potential consumers as possible.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
Caroline had tried to make the sweatshirts more appealing by sewing large Santas, bordered with glitter, on the fronts, but this only made the dingy cotton seem dingier.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
