1
as in disgusting
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment
opening your mouth to show me your half-chewed food is absolutely appalling
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
appalling crimes against humanity
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in shocking
to cause an unpleasant surprise for
conditions inside the house overrun with cats simply appalled animal control officers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 appalling
David Denby, New Yorker, 23 May 2025
The team’s appalling record in the Premier League was extended and is worthy of fully detailing, but everyone’s immediate focus was on readying for that Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur.
—Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 17 May 2025
The summer before Gunnar Helm’s junior year of high school, Cherry Creek offensive line coach Det Betti stepped back for a moment during a practice and took stock of a rather appalling personnel discrepancy.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2025
But every now and then, there’s just someone saying something that’s completely appalling.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 15 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for appalling
Adjective
Kehlmann exercises the same liberties as Doctorow, yet what holds his fictional whirlwind together is not sensation but an appalling portrait of Europe in a state of emotional and moral disintegration.
—David Denby, New Yorker, 23 May 2025
The team’s appalling record in the Premier League was extended and is worthy of fully detailing, but everyone’s immediate focus was on readying for that Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur.
—Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 17 May 2025
The summer before Gunnar Helm’s junior year of high school, Cherry Creek offensive line coach Det Betti stepped back for a moment during a practice and took stock of a rather appalling personnel discrepancy.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2025
But every now and then, there’s just someone saying something that’s completely appalling.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 15 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for appalling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for appalling
Adjective
-
Conrad wraps the conversation by being incredibly disgusting about Bella’s nether regions.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
1 June 2025
-
For the next 200 years, snails only appeared in Parisian cookbooks alongside an apology for including such a disgusting ingredient.—
Garritt C. Van Dyk,
Smithsonian Magazine,
29 May 2025
Adjective
-
That this horrific upheaval comes care of Lucy’s work is the real kicker.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
9 June 2025
-
This is what Qasem Hassan had feared from the start—that the horrific violence inflicted on Israelis on October 7th would be used to justify a war without limits, dehumanizing all Palestinians.—
Eyal Press,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
Verb
-
Jung-bae wound up in a room of three, with Player 001 and some rando — but Player 001 choked the stranger to death in time to reduce their head count, shocking Jung-bae more than a bit.—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
26 Dec. 2024
-
Fox News Digital obtained shocking audio between Cyrus and his estranged wife where the country crooner is heard berating his Australian ex and using profane language.—
Ashley Hume,
Fox News,
26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Over the 18 games following a 21-run eruption against the historically awful Colorado Rockies, the Padres ranked last in the majors in OPS and third-to-last in runs per game.—
Dennis Lin,
New York Times,
2 June 2025
-
The timing isn’t awful for SDFC, which doesn’t play its next league game until June 14 and expected Lozano to be absent possibly into early July on national-team duty.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 May 2025
Adjective
-
Six decades later, Hamas would engage in a gruesome competition with Fatah to outdo one another with terrorist attacks during the 1990s and early 2000s.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
6 June 2025
-
But Trump and Epstein’s association has been out in the open for nearly a quarter century; nineties-era footage of the gruesome twosome together at Mar-a-Lago, leering at a group of young cheerleaders, has been circulating since at least 2019.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
6 June 2025
Adjective
-
Even with the horrible start the Red Sox still nearly came all the way back, twice drawing to within one run, but the club couldn’t get over the hump.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
3 June 2025
-
We were made aware of this horrible activity by Priscilla Olivarez from ILRC, at our annual conference Convening 2025, held in San Antonio.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 June 2025
Adjective
-
Kids these days have attention spans crushed under the terrible weight of TikTok and Instgram.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
-
Heavy truck traffic has also contributed to terrible pollution in California’s Central Valley.—
Francine Kiefer,
Christian Science Monitor,
2 June 2025
Adjective
-
But the defense is hoping to cast her recollections merely as sickening details in a deranged love story between two consenting and jealous adults.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
17 May 2025
-
For years, raw sewage from Mexico has poured across the border into Southern California, fouling beaches, sickening residents and sparking diplomatic as well as environmental concerns.—
Joe Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Appalling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/appalling. Accessed 15 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share