appall

/əˈpɔl/

/əˈpɔl/

Other forms: appalling; appalled; appalls

That tattoo on your lower back is likely to appall your mother. Just like her pink hair once appalled your grandmother. To appall is to shock and disgust.

Appall comes from an Old French word meaning "to make pale." If a gory scene in a movie appalls you, you're likely to turn pale. The word appall always carries with it the feeling of disgust. You might be shocked by a loud noise, but in order for it to appall you, it would probably have to come along with a really foul smell or a gruesome scene.

Definitions of appall

1. verb

   strike with disgust or revulsion
   synonyms: appal, offend, outrage, scandalise, scandalize, shock

   type of:

   churn up, disgust, nauseate, revolt, sicken

   cause aversion in; offend the moral sense of
2. verb

   fill with apprehension or alarm; cause to be unpleasantly surprised
   synonyms: alarm, appal, dismay, horrify

   types:

   shock

   strike with horror or terror

   type of:

   affright, fright, frighten, scare

   cause fear in