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appall - What does it mean?

Definition of 'appall'

English

Alternative forms

* appal (occasionally in Commonwealth English)

Verb

(en-verb)
  • To depress or discourage with fear; to impress with fear in such a manner that the mind shrinks, or loses its firmness; to inundate with sudden terror or horror; to dismay.
  • The sight appalled the stoutest heart.
  • * Edward Hyde Claredon
  • The house of peers was somewhat appalled at this alarum.
  • (obsolete) To make pale; to blanch.
  • * Wyatt
  • The answer that ye made to me, my dear, / Hath so appalled my countenance.
  • (obsolete) To weaken; to enfeeble; to reduce.
  • * Holland
  • Wine, of its own nature, will not congeal and freeze, only it will lose the strength, and become appalled in extremity of cold.
  • (obsolete) To grow faint; to become weak; to become dismayed or discouraged.
  • (Gower)
  • (obsolete) To lose flavour or become stale.
  • Synonyms

    * dismay, terrify, daunt, frighten, affright, scare, depress * See also