appall

CEFRC1

/əˈpɔːl/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To shock or horrify someone greatly.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    To make pale; to blanch.

Examples

  • I was shocked to appall the audience with such a revelation.

  • The news of the accident will appall his family.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To weaken; to reduce in strength

  2. To fill with horror or indignation; to dismay.

  3. To grow faint; to become weak; to become dismayed or discouraged.

More examples

In context

  • The shocking images of the disaster appall viewers around the world.

  • The evidence put forth at the court appalled most of the jury.

  • The house of peers was somewhat appalled at this alarum.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The gruesome crime scene was enough to blank even the most hardened detective.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

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”), from pallere. See pale (adj.) and compare with pall.