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Definition of appall

appall

/əˈpɔːl/
(UK: appal)
ap · pall
Adverb:appallingly
•
Adjective:appalling
•
Past Simple:appalled
•
Past Participle:appalled
•
Present Participle:appalling
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appall Lexical Profile

appall Game Scores & Validity

• verb

1

American To greatly dismay, horrify, or shock someone with a feeling of disgust or moral outrage.

Example

"The sheer scale of food waste in the cafeteria continues to appall the school administrators."

Synonyms
View all synonyms for appall
Antonyms
View all antonyms for appall

Word Nuance & Usage

Spelled 'appall' in American English and 'appal' in British English, though both varieties double the final 'l' in inflected forms ('appalled', 'appalling').

• Rhymes for appall

• Nearby Words

app
appalachian
appalachians
appall
appalling
appallingly
apparatus

Word Origin & Etymology

From Middle English 'appallen' ('to grow pale or weaken'), borrowed from Old French 'apalir' ('to become or make pale'), ultimately from Latin 'ad-' ('to') and 'pallere' ('to be pale').

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Appall. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/appall
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