appeal

American  

[uh-peel] / əˈpil /

noun

• appeals
  plural

1. an earnest request for aid, support, sympathy, mercy, etc.; entreaty; petition; plea.

   Synonyms:

   invocation, supplication, prayer

2. a request or reference to some person or authority for a decision, corroboration, judgment, etc.

   Synonyms:

   solicitation, suit

3. Law.

   1. an application or proceeding for review by a higher tribunal.

   2. (in a legislative body or assembly) a formal question as to the correctness of a ruling by a presiding officer.

   3. Obsolete. a formal charge or accusation.

4. the power or ability to attract, interest, amuse, or stimulate the mind or emotions.

   The game has lost its appeal.

   Synonyms:

   attraction

5. Obsolete. a summons or challenge.

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verb (used without object)

• appeals,
  present (3rd person singular)
• appealed,
  past participle,  past
• appealing
  present participle

1. to ask for aid, support, mercy, sympathy, or the like; make an earnest entreaty.

   The college appealed to its alumni for funds.

   Synonyms:

   ask, request

2. Law. to apply for review of a case or particular issue to a higher tribunal.

3. to have need of or ask for proof, a decision, corroboration, etc.

4. to be especially attractive, pleasing, interesting, or enjoyable.

   The red hat appeals to me.

verb (used with object)

• appeals,
  present (3rd person singular)
• appealed,
  past participle,  past
• appealing
  present participle

1. Law.

   1. to apply for review of (a case) to a higher tribunal.

   2. Obsolete. to charge with a crime before a tribunal.

idioms

1. appeal to the country, country.

appeal British  

/ əˈpiːl /

noun

1. a request for relief, aid, etc

2. the power to attract, please, stimulate, or interest

   a dress with appeal

3. an application or resort to another person or authority, esp a higher one, as for a decision or confirmation of a decision

4. law

   1. the judicial review by a superior court of the decision of a lower tribunal

   2. a request for such review

   3. the right to such review

5. cricket a verbal request to the umpire from one or more members of the fielding side to declare a batsman out

6. English law (formerly) a formal charge or accusation

   appeal of felony

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verb

1. (intr) to make an earnest request for relief, support, etc

2. (intr) to attract, please, stimulate, or interest

3. law to apply to a superior court to review (a case or particular issue decided by a lower tribunal)

4. (intr) to resort (to), as for a decision or confirmation of a decision

5. (intr) cricket to ask the umpire to declare a batsman out

6. (intr) to challenge the umpire's or referee's decision

Synonym Usage

Appeal, entreat, petition, supplicate mean to ask for something wished for or needed. Appeal and petition may concern groups and formal or public requests. Entreat and supplicate are usually more personal and urgent. To appeal is to ask earnestly for help or support, on grounds of reason, justice, common humanity, etc.: to appeal for contributions to a cause. To petition is to ask by written request, by prayer, or the like, that something be granted: to petition for more playgrounds. Entreat suggests pleading: The captured knight entreated the king not to punish him. To supplicate is to beg humbly, usually from a superior, powerful, or stern (official) person: to supplicate that the lives of prisoners be spared.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• appealability
  noun
• appealer
  noun
• nonappealability
  noun
• reappeal
  verb
• appealable
  adjective
• nonappealable
  adjective
• unappealed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• appeals
  plural

Participles

• appealing
  present
• appealed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• appeal
  simple
• appeals
  simple
• have appealed
  perfect
• has appealed
  perfect
• am appealing
  progressive
• are appealing
  progressive
• is appealing
  progressive
• have been appealing
  perfect progressive
• has been appealing
  perfect progressive

Past

• appealed
  simple
• had appealed
  perfect
• was appealing
  progressive
• were appealing
  progressive
• had been appealing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will appeal
  simple
• will have appealed
  perfect
• will be appealing
  progressive
• will have been appealing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of appeal

First recorded in 1250–1300; (for the verb) Middle English a(p)pelen, from Anglo-French, Old French a(p)peler, from Latin appellāre “to speak to, address,” from ap- ap- ¹ + -pellāre “to push repeatedly,” stem of pellere “to drive, push, strike”; (for the noun) Middle English ap(p)el, from Anglo-French, Old French apel, noun derivative of ap(p)eler

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Explanation

Appeal means "to ask, or address." If you appeal to someone's better nature, you're asking them for mercy. If a shirt doesn't appeal to you, you could also say it doesn't "speak" to you, or more simply, you don't like it. Appeal can also be used as a noun to refer to a request, as in "his parents ignored his appeal for a later curfew," or to refer to something's attractiveness or desirability, as in "we all agreed on the appeal of a tropical vacation." In judicial contexts, appeal means "to call upon a higher court to review a lower court's decision." If a lawyer appeals a court's conviction of her client, she's asking a higher court to throw the decision out. This word descends from the Latin appellare, "to address, call upon."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

appeal appeals appealed appealing

On Friday, the appeal judges dismissed all seven grounds.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

There are also constraints throughout its supply chain, the company noted, including for chip wafers and packaging substrates — an essential component for its advanced chip-packaging technology that is gaining appeal with customers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

Amazon earlier this month made a new public relations appeal to shore up support for its data centers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Justice Department lawyers promptly filed notice of appeal back to the 9th Circuit — where the case is likely, though not guaranteed, to land before the same three-judge panel that previously rejected the administration’s demands.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

They drafted a message to the white delegates, calling it a “moral appeal to the hearts and consciences of the people of our State.”

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Our friend with plans for Michigan loved the long view: “What appeals to me is the length of the project. Thirty years, 40—or a thousand, for a Sequoia! It’s like touching immortality.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

However, in his own games, he likes to include subtle stylistic references to classic games because he knows that this appeals to gamers.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

A federal judge ruled against the company in August, and an appeals court refused in September to pause enforcement.

From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026

A federal appeals court upheld the order in 2025.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

I sometimes considered hanging a shingle outside my cell, because I was spending many hours a week preparing judicial appeals for other prisoners, though this was forbidden under prison service regulations.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

And in his final major rally before Tuesday's vote, he appealed directly to wavering Netanyahu supporters to change their vote.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

This attitude even appealed to attendees at a debate watch party that the Sand campaign held in Davenport for the first gubernatorial debate in early October.

From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026

Elizabeth Buffardi, a fee-only financial planner based in the Chicago area, developed her own spreadsheet to run analyses for clients, because none of the software appealed to her.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

The city spokeswoman said the council stepped in only because Damac had appealed the decision.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

That well-paved world appealed to him, and he missed it as his feet fell on uneven clumps of hardened dirt that threatened to twist his ankles.

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

That means finding a few sides that are so appealing, and so low-effort, that adding one more feels less like a chore and more like, “Oh, hell, why not?”

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

HA has been joined by UK non-profit Foxglove and other groups in appealing the city's rezoning of a portion of land near Barcelona acquired by US-based Equinix, which operates around 280 data centres worldwide.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

Some buyers consider meme stocks or crypto as a sort of initiation into a group—an emotionally appealing feature cleverly tapped with the apes’ “club” moniker.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

Aside from the memory chip heavyweights, Moe also finds several other sectors appealing.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

Even the dusty tire swings dangling from every other tree look appealing, but that might just be the heat getting to me.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

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Related Words

• apply
• ask
• call
• call upon
• claim
• contest
• demand
• petition
• plead
• pray
• propose
• refer
• require
• submit
• sue
• urge

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