appalling 1 of 2

adjective

ə-ˈpȯ-liŋ How to pronounce appalling (audio)
Definition of appallingnext
1
as in disgusting
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment opening your mouth to show me your half-chewed food is absolutely appalling

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2
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent appalling crimes against humanity

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

appalling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of appall
as in shocking
to cause an unpleasant surprise for conditions inside the house overrun with cats simply appalled animal control officers

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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
Adjective
Every year Latino journalists from all over the country come together to learn some new reporting skills, court potential employees, show off new products and give out an appalling amount of tote bags. — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2026 Yet on the ground, Venezuelans people see no tangible improvement in their appalling living conditions. — Rafael Osío Cabrices, Time, 20 July 2026
Verb
The young Forster recoiled from the school’s culture of authoritarianism and militaristic chauvinism, which may have found expression in the students’ often appalling attitudes toward their own mothers. — Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 7 May 2026 Of all the recent poster boys for appalling misbehavior by the State Police, Michael Proctor would of course rank number one. — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for appalling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for appalling
  1. disgusting
  2. horrific
  3. shocking
  4. awful
  5. gruesome
  6. horrifying
  7. horrible
  8. terrible
Adjective
  • To interrogate Fauci now, for absolutely no coherent reason and completely without sense, is shameful and disgusting.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026
  • The left's most hated author — JK Rowling — has dropped the hammer on the disgusting things that took place at the Indiana Fever-Seattle Storm game earlier this week.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026
Definition of disgusting
Adjective
  • Gen gets to bust out her flapper dress only to witness the most horrific, awful, potentially career-destroying failure … the caviar, oysters, and bread are all crowded onto the bread plate.
    — Emma Soren, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026
  • In her very first on-screen role, Reeves brings a nuanced, brave, and deeply intuitive performance as the titular character, an eight-year-old San Francisco resident who witnesses a horrific crime and has to deal with the emotional fallout.
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of horrific
Verb
  • In February, Trump appointee Vinay Prasad—a Kennedy ally—refused to even review the vaccine, despite objections from FDA staff and career officials, shocking Moderna and the larger biomedical community.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The rollout comes on the heels of shocking AI safety failures that rattled the nascent industry.
    — Sam McNeil, Fortune, 31 July 2026
Definition of shocking
Adjective
  • The battle sequences in this finale are awful, elaborate, and grotesque, especially Ormund using children as human shields and Daemon burning them alive.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
  • So, what does this mean for the markets, and us bystanders, in this awful situation?
    — Clem Chambers, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of awful
Adjective
  • In a two-story warehouse on the back lot, just a few blocks away from the streets of Tumbleton, Mason gives me a tour of his prosthetics operation, which is currently abuzz with workers assembling gruesome wounds and other injuries.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The utter carnage that follows brings major developments for all the main characters still on the chessboard — and many gruesome deaths by dragon fire, boiling oil, spikes and even catapults.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of gruesome
Verb
  • The complications are horrifying doctors.
    — Alexandra Frost, USA Today, 24 June 2026
  • Following her rescue, horrifying details of what happened to Jaycee began to emerge.
    — Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
Definition of horrifying
Adjective
  • After years of seeing enough photos of fabulous wealth and horrible tragedy, these types of images cease to shock us.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Aug. 2026
  • But the horrible jobs data suggests the central bank may have to think about weakening consumer spending as well.
    — Sarah Min, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of horrible
Adjective
  • That Crowley came from behind to win was a testament to Evers’ grit and determination to keep the nomination from Hong, whom Evers said was unlikely to win in November, and to how terrible of a campaigner Hong turned out to be in the home stretch.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Although the Constitution requires congressional involvement in war-making, Trump like Nixon disdained that mandate with terrible consequences.
    — Elizabeth Holtzman, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of terrible

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Cite this Entry

“Appalling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/appalling. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of appalling for Spanish Speakers

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