appall
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Alternative forms
- appal (Commonwealth English)
Etymology
From Middle English apallen, from Old French apalir (“to grow pale, make pale”); a (Latin ad) + palir (“to grow pale, to make pale”), pâle (“pale”). See pale (adj.) and compare with pall.
Pronunciation
Verb
appall (third-person singular simple present appalls, present participle appalling, simple past and past participle appalled)
- (transitive) To fill with horror and/or indignation; to dismay.
- Synonyms: terrify, daunt, frighten, scare, depress, (archaic) affright; see also Thesaurus:frighten
- The evidence put forth at the court appalled most of the jury.
- 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “(please specify |book=I to XVI)”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the Theater, published 1707, →OCLC:
- The house of peers was somewhat appalled at this alarum.
- (transitive, obsolete) To make pale; to blanch.
- c. 1527–1542, Thomas Wyatt, “Thanſwere that ye made to me my dere”, in Egerton MS 2711, page 63r:
- Thanſwere that ye made to me my dere
whañ I did ſewe for my poore hartes redreſſe
hathe ſo apalld my countenaunce […]
- (transitive, obsolete) To weaken; to reduce in strength
- 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], (please specify |tome=1 or 2), London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC:
- wine of it owne nature will not congeale and freeze, onely it will loose the strength, and become appalled in extremitie of cold.
- (intransitive, obsolete) To grow faint; to become weak; to become dismayed or discouraged.
- (intransitive, obsolete) To lose flavour or become stale.
Usage notes
- Most British dictionaries consider "appal" the sole standard UK spelling (although, as with other words ending in a single vowel followed by an "l", the "l" is always doubled for derivatives such as "appalling").
Derived terms
Translations
to depress or discourage with fear; to impress with fear
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References
- “appall”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams
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