appalling

adjective

ap·​pall·​ing ə-ˈpȯ-liŋ 

: inspiring horror, dismay, or disgust

living under appalling conditions

appalling savagery

appallingly adverb

Synonyms of appalling

• disgusting
• awful
• horrible
• sickening
• ugly
• shocking
• hideous
• obnoxious
• obscene
• dreadful
• offensive

Examples of appalling in a Sentence

We drove by an appalling accident on the highway.

opening your mouth to show me your half-chewed food is absolutely appalling

Recent Examples on the Web

The relentless flow of appalling events eventually overloads the nervous system; the rising tide of brutality, which once seemed shocking, comes to seem unremarkable. —David Brooks, Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2026

Not shocking or appalling, or overly complicated or computer-generated into oblivion. —Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 15 Jan. 2026

Those demonstrations against economic hardship and the regime's appalling financial record snowballed quickly into the nationwide protests against the Islamic Republic's leadership itself. —Elizabeth Palmer, CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026

Outrage quickly spread against the appalling practice among the public and regulators, and some countries, including Malaysia and Indonesia, moved to ban access to X outright. —Frank Landymore, Futurism, 14 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of appall

First Known Use

1635, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for appalling

• enthralling
• forestalling
• installing
• recalling
• balling
• bawling
• brawling
• calling
• colling
• crawling
• drawling
• falling

Kids Definition

appalling

adjective

ap·​pall·​ing

ə-ˈpȯl-iŋ

: inspiring horror or dismay : shocking

appallingly adverb