Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A state of terror; affright; dismay; consternation.
- To grow pale or become dim.
- To become weak in quality, or faint in strength; fade; fail; decay.
- To become faint-hearted; lose courage or resolution; become dismayed.
- To become weak, flat, stale, and insipid; lose flavor or taste, as fermented liquor.
- To make pale; cause to grow pale; blanch.
- To cause to become weak or to fail; weaken; reduce.
- To deprive of courage or strength through fear; cause to shrink with fear; confound with fear; dismay; terrify: as, the sight appalled the stoutest heart.
- To cause to become weak, flat, or stale, or to lose flavor or taste, as fermented liquor.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb UK, less common Alternative spelling of
appall .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb strike with disgust or revulsion
- verb fill with apprehension or alarm; cause to be unpleasantly surprised
Etymologies
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Examples
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He was supposed to have outgrown all that and it can only appal the England manager, Fabio Capello, particularly as the reduction in numbers heartened the hosts.
Montenegro 2-2 England | Euro 2012 Group G qualifier match report 2011
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Latest to appal the easily appalled is a selection of T-shirts, designed to increase Nike's share of the action sports market.
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Gaddafi had the ability to amaze and appal, to shock and amuse, simultaneously and in equal measure.
Gaddafi: a vicious, sinister despot driven out on tidal wave of hatred 2011
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For on that day in 1914, as the first gruesome list of casualties from the front began to appal the nation at home, a cricketer whose single feat had entranced the whole game back in one of its sunny Victorian summers of innocence was killed in France.
Armistice Day recalls Arthur Collins' imperishable cricketing feat | Frank Keating 2011
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Latest to appal the easily appalled is a selection of T-shirts, designed to increase Nike's share of the action sports market.
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Or to appal anyone you might be giving a lift to in your car.
In The Gloaming In The Post! « In The Gloaming Podcasts 2010
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William Hague, the foreign secretary, warned that if the "medieval" execution went ahead it would "disgust and appal" the world.
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani will not be stoned to death - for the time being 2010
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Despite being treated with contempt over the centuries, these narratives served not only to amaze and appal children but to teach them coded lessons about the realities of life, from toilet training to pregnancy, argues Germaine Greer
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"She has already faced the disgraceful punishment of 99 lashes for adultery; her execution would disgust and appal the watching world."
Iranians still facing death by stoning despite 'reprieve' 2010
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Its behaviour is simply unacceptable and should appal everyone who wants the Met to be a representative force.
It is time to stand up to those who want to stop minorities joining the Met 2009
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