APPALL Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

appall

verb

ə-ˈpȯl

variants also appal

Definition of appall next

as in to terrify

to cause an unpleasant surprise for conditions inside the house overrun with cats simply appalled animal control officers

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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 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 To borrow a phrase from 19th-century Parisian poets, Épater la bourgeoisie—to shock and appall the middle class. —

Dan Neil, WSJ, 23 June 2022

Recent Examples of Synonyms for appall

Verb

But Marcel arrived terrified, hiding in the bathroom and refusing to move or be touched.

— David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025
Instead of a confetti bomb going off, someone turns on the fog/smoke machine, terrifying all of the little pups into relieving themselves everywhere in fear.

— Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 3 Feb. 2025