appall

variants also appal

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb appall contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of appall are daunt, dismay, and horrify. While all these words mean "to unnerve or deter by arousing fear, apprehension, or aversion," appall implies that one is faced with that which perturbs, confounds, or shocks.

I am appalled by your behavior

When can daunt be used instead of appall?

The meanings of daunt and appall largely overlap; however, daunt suggests a cowing, disheartening, or frightening in a venture requiring courage.

a cliff that would daunt the most intrepid climber

When is it sensible to use dismay instead of appall?

The words dismay and appall can be used in similar contexts, but dismay implies that one is disconcerted and at a loss as to how to deal with something.

dismayed at the size of the job

In what contexts can horrify take the place of appall?

In some situations, the words horrify and appall are roughly equivalent. However, horrify stresses a reaction of horror or revulsion.

was horrified by such wanton cruelty

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of appall Spielberg imagined it as a noise that has the power to appall. David Denby, Vulture, 3 July 2025 Still, there is plenty here that should appall both Democrats and Republicans. The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025 Dismay or appall you, sure, but never surprise you. Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2024 That kind of appalls me to think that people need not expect that of themselves. David Marchese Photograph By Mamadi Doumbouya, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024 What appalls him now is a lack of accountability in Netanyahu’s government. David Remnick, The New Yorker, 14 Jan. 2024 Kunzig: Alejandra, the weather this year kept finding fresh ways to appall us. Susan Goldberg, National Geographic, 9 Dec. 2021 The whiteness of the fantasy village will appall some — including, presumably, those who protested Gelman’s leadership of The Wing, that women-only co-working operation whose own workforce was notoriously segregated by race. Grace Lavery, Curbed, 20 Apr. 2022 Are there some whose only aim is to appall and disturb? Mark Shanahan, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Dec. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for appall
Verb
  • Kate Riley: Despondently stalking up and down avenues of Manhattan, scheming of ways to acquire food without paying for it, alienating and terrifying everyone who cared about me, trying to invent toys.
    Teddy Wayne August 12, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2025
  • Autumn Rodman/Reddit At that moment, Rodman was terrified.
    Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Some things still floor him about the guy who took his money.
    Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 14 Aug. 2025
  • The daters Julie Nguyen works with are more likely to be floored by the laziness, spelling errors, and sheer audacity of the people on the other end.
    Angela Haupt, Time, 11 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Most give up halfway, frightened by the warnings of those below.
    Sudhir Gupta, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
  • While the notion might frighten fans who have Thursday nights perpetually blocked off on their calendars, shorter episodes could prove beneficial in giving the Critical Role founders a little bit of a break.
    Dana Reboe, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Some, scared off by the complexity of picking a policy and by the price tags, tumble over the edge and go without insurance in a health system where the rate for an emergency room visit can be thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars.
    Elisabeth Rosenthal, Miami Herald, 12 Aug. 2025
  • Effectively scaring a bear also reinforces the person as dominant in an encounter, so the bear learns to avoid people.
    Staff report, Hartford Courant, 9 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • She was shocked at how quickly my labor progressed.
    Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Aug. 2025
  • Sanders' slide out of the first round shocked many, including Trump, who sent a post on Truth Social condemning the league's owners for passing on the quarterback.
    Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • So the Chargers circled back to San Diego, winners on the books but still losers to a pocket of former fans disgusted by their exit.
    Jay Paris, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
  • Working-class voters grew disenchanted with, and then disgusted by, elite, wealthy liberals.
    Michael Catanzaro, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 July 2025
Verb
  • His friend was horrified at what Reno came up with.
    Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
  • The move thrilled critics of the technology but horrified many public health and biosecurity experts.
    Rob Stein, NPR, 6 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Their female anime character companion removes clothing as a reward for positive engagement from users and responds with expletives if offended or rejected by users.
    Annie Chestnut Tutor, Boston Herald, 18 Aug. 2025
  • In one corner is Tamra Judge, the hardened veteran, who is peddling a story about being betrayed by someone on the cast, only to be shocked when only half of the women believe her, given her history of offending everyone and then apologizing for it over the years.
    Brian Moylan, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Appall.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/appall. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.

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