1
as in disgusting
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment
opening your mouth to show me your half-chewed food is absolutely appalling
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
appalling crimes against humanity
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in shocking
to cause an unpleasant surprise for
conditions inside the house overrun with cats simply appalled animal control officers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of appalling
Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025
The Taliban takeover has resulted in particularly appalling treatment of women in the country.
—Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 1 Jan. 2025
Transfer of the year: In 2023, Argentine Andre Orellana — then with Honduran club Marathon — took out two Olimpia players with this appalling tackle (double red card-worthy in my opinion).
—Phil Hay, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
Critics say that would be an appalling use of the justice system to carry out political ends.
—Obed Manuel, NPR, 3 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for appalling 
Adjective
The fact that survivors had to turn to the media just to be heard is appalling.
—Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025
The Taliban takeover has resulted in particularly appalling treatment of women in the country.
—Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 1 Jan. 2025
Transfer of the year: In 2023, Argentine Andre Orellana — then with Honduran club Marathon — took out two Olimpia players with this appalling tackle (double red card-worthy in my opinion).
—Phil Hay, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
Critics say that would be an appalling use of the justice system to carry out political ends.
—Obed Manuel, NPR, 3 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for appalling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for appalling
Adjective
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My TikTok really blew up somewhere between my videos taste-testing a really disgusting medication and my series about dating.—
Brooke Eby,
People.com,
23 Jan. 2025
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Billions Of Jellyfish Wash Up On Beach By Jess Thomson Science Reporter 1 A plague of bizarre and disgusting balls that have washed up along popular beaches in Australia have been found to contain fecal bacteria.—
Raul A. Reyes,
Newsweek,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Beloved Hollywood couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco have teamed up on the big screen a handful of times already but their new collaboration tests their coupledom in new and horrific ways.—
Chris Gardner,
The Hollywood Reporter,
26 Jan. 2025
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Fires shine spotlight on power lines Power lines are again drawing the spotlight as a potential cause of the horrific blazes.—
Bart Jansen,
USA TODAY,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Jung-bae wound up in a room of three, with Player 001 and some rando — but Player 001 choked the stranger to death in time to reduce their head count, shocking Jung-bae more than a bit.—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
26 Dec. 2024
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Fox News Digital obtained shocking audio between Cyrus and his estranged wife where the country crooner is heard berating his Australian ex and using profane language.—
Ashley Hume,
Fox News,
26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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But 2024 Ohio State had the good fortune to suffer that awful day in the first year of a bigger Playoff.—
Stewart Mandel,
The Athletic,
21 Jan. 2025
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There is one ray of hope for United fans though amid the awful run of results.—
Ben Church,
CNN,
20 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Shanks brilliantly paces the story out with several pieces of foreshadowing, including a rat king as symbolism for toxic codependency, mirroring a gruesome story Tim tells Millie about his father’s death and his mother’s mental health.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
27 Jan. 2025
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Unlike the gruesome, bloodthirsty creatures of classic films and literature, Cullen and his family abstain from drinking the blood of humans.—
Edward Segarra,
USA TODAY,
27 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Traffic was horrible and the private crews can’t turn on a siren, ignore traffic laws, and drive on the wrong side of the road like public firefighters.—
Joseph Bien-Kahn,
Rolling Stone,
24 Jan. 2025
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Recommended Trump moves from ‘American carnage’ to ‘a horrible betrayal’ in second inaugural Juries also convicted some on charges of seditious conspiracy, which refers to activities that undermine a state without directly attacking it.—
Patrik Jonsson,
The Christian Science Monitor,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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While this is terrible for the environment, customer satisfaction, and retailers’ bottom lines, the truth is the industry has created a monster and easy and free returns have become the basic consumer expectation.—
Steve Dennis,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
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Gerulaitis’s gallows humour deflects from the fact that his terrible records against Connors and Borg took a big toll on his confidence.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
The Athletic,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Respiratory viruses are continuing to spread across the United States, sickening millions of Americans.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
20 Jan. 2025
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Escaping the sickening air pollution triggered by the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles has become a game of which algorithm to trust.—
Paresh Dave,
WIRED,
16 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near appalling
Cite this Entry
“Appalling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/appalling. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
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