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 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 These attacks weren't meant to appall liberals; they were meant to entice conservatives. Grayson Quay, The Week, 21 July 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for appall
Verb
  • The house that the Americans strategically position themselves in is home to two families; there are occasional insert shots of family photos and trinkets, and at several points these families are shown cowering, terrified by what’s happening around them.
    Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Addie is gripping onto her seat completely terrified.
    Arick Wierson, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • When Melody Farris used her sentencing hearing to accuse her son Scott of being Gary's true murderer, some of those in the courtroom were floored.
    Susan Mallie, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2025
  • Pino slammed the horn and floored the gas pedal, roaring into her backyard.
    Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The king of the forest was once frightened by the sound of a bull.
    John Nemec, The Conversation, 7 Apr. 2025
  • The prospect of returning to the role, first for a West End reprise in February and then for the Brooklyn performance frightened her.
    Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • The Missouri product is a solid route-runner with sure hands, but there are some off-field concerns that could scare teams away.
    Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Apr. 2025
  • As the Trump administration arbitrarily revokes and denies student visas, and xenophobic rhetoric scares away potential foreigners, agencies specializing in recruiting students from abroad are facing a sharp downturn.
    Emma Whitford, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • One father, a lawyer who teaches constitutional law, was shocked by the university’s roughshod treatment of his son and students and the ease with which administrators disregarded their rights.
    Wynn Smiley, Baltimore Sun, 24 Apr. 2025
  • The manhunt The slaying of Pascal shocked in the Upper Florida Keys community, which, while certainly not immune from crime, rarely experiences brutal murders.
    David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • All of them disgust me to be quite honest with you. KARL: All right.
    ABC News, ABC News, 13 Apr. 2025
  • Vara, like many of her readers, is both enchanted by the web and disgusted with the companies that control it.
    Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Alas, there is very little time on this show for healing or processing, since in a real Pitt move, just as the Pitt Fest trauma comes to a close an ambulance pulls up with yet another story line to horrify us: A possible measles outbreak thanks to anti-vaxxers!
    Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Surely that must shock and horrify all those who respect democracy and the rule of law.
    Lee Habeeb, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • But in a world where Chrome is castigated as the worst offending mainstream browser for privacy and tracking, this will land flat.
    Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
  • The Supreme Court justices sounded ready on Tuesday to give parents a constitutional right to opt out of public school lessons for their children that offend their religious beliefs.
    David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Appall.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/appall. Accessed 3 May. 2025.

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