Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Causing consternation or dismay; frightful: appalling working conditions; appalling violence.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Causing or fitted to cause dismay or horror: as, an appalling accident; an appalling sight.
Wiktionary
- v. present participle of appall.
- adj. Horrifying and astonishing.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Such as to appall.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. causing consternation
- n. an experience that appalls
Examples
“U.S. President Barack Obama said the world is outraged by what he called the "appalling" violence against the Libyan people and is urging Gadhafi to step down.”
Voice of America: Libyan Airstrikes Prompt Debate on No-Fly Zone
“Greece traditionally accepted only a tiny fraction of asylum applicants and a recent Human Rights Watch report condemned what it called an "appalling" system that left migrants, including children, stuck "for weeks or months in filthy and grossly overcrowded conditions.”
“In a nine-page report, the State Department criticizes what it calls appalling and systematic repression, including forcing women away from education and out of their jobs.”
“The White House deplored what it called "appalling violence.”
“Trade union Unison initially called for the Top Gear presenter to be sacked by the BBC over what it described as "appalling" comments.”
“Ohuruogu had what she called an "appalling" race over a lap of the Crystal Palace track on Saturday to finish last as Richards-Ross marked herself among favourites for the World Championships with an impressive victory.”
“Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel was particularly sharp in speaking out against what she called an "appalling crime.”
“Canada still has many issues with First Nations where they are treated as second class citizens and live in appalling conditions.”
“From Secretary Clinton, to Governor Palin, to soon-to-be Governor Haley, Christine's political opponents have been willing to engage in appalling and baseless attacks -- all with the aim of distracting the press from covering the real issues in this race.”
The Huffington Post: Christine O'Donnell Blasts Gawker's 'One Night Stand' Story
“What appalling is that George Bush and Dick Cheney, who used deception to launch a war of choice for profit in Iraq that got 4,300 U.S. troops and 1.3 million Iraqis killed, not only have yet to face charges of treason and war crimes, but both enjoy lifetime free salaries and free health care paid for by the citizens they deceived and endangered.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘appalling’.
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The Secret Garden
sickly, fretful, toddle, cross, stammer, manor, slink, grind, disdain, imploringly, wring, wailing and 30 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, A
abaculus, abacus, abaft, abarticular, abbreviate, abeyance, abiding, anthocyanin, antemeridian, arcane, adjure, adduce and 418 more...
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Real words that I love
Words that make me happy in my pants AND have a place in the dictionary.
enervate, efficacious, basilisk, minotaur, elfin, elephantine, schadenfreude, enigma, emasculate, acidic, appalling, ridiculous and 102 more...
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Words I Know
List of most of the words I've learned
garner, abase, abate, abdicate, abduct, aberration, abet, abhor, abide, abject, abjure, abnegation and 1046 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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The Most Beautiful Words in the Engli...
mellifluous, obscure, star-crossed, undulating, solstice, messiah, audacious, solace, twilight, wanderlust, lovelorn, byzantine and 219 more...
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GRE AWA
escalating, vehement, vehemence, hostility, paparazzi, regime, irrespective, scoop, exaggerated, overblown, unfetter, scrupulous and 272 more...
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Mary and Max (2009)
Words from 2009 'Mary and Max' film.
muddy, puddle, birthmark, piggyback, pensive, gumnut, pompom, salvage, takeaway, oven, shed, deliberate and 112 more...
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soph2's Words
serendipity, audacity, groak, petrichor, lethologica, loganamnosis, agnuopia, dysania, dysphagia, neologism, incredulity, harbinger and 246 more...
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stpeter's Words
abase, abasement, abashed, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abhorrent, abide, abject, ablation, abnegation and 3536 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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MsHalston's Words
theoretically, insufferable, apolitico, milquetoast, egregious, aplomb, elan, fraught, flummox, befrocked, moll, molten and 605 more...
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adjectives
sartorial, saucy, wieldy, wuthering, dilapidated, rough-and-ready, flabbergasted, ravishing, seminal, snooty, galore, scrumptious and 386 more...
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_mark's list
Words I like!
( personal list, favorite words, randomness )psy, nanobot, success, smack, vibration, microcosmic, springgraph, marksmanship, estranged, homoerotic, flex, fiasco and 1696 more...
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vivek's list
flibbertigibbet, droll, reticence, prelude, erinaceous, brinkmanship, depone, inaniloquent, limerance, pronk, onomatopoeia, oxymoron and 385 more...
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lukemomma's Words
sure, apparently, fathom, shindig, appalling, ridiculous, utterly, monstrosity, harsh, freak, cavernous, cockeyed and 1 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for appalling.

milosrdenstvi Have you seen her? She's something appalling!
-- The Mikado Aug 21, 2008
kewpid “You can’t conceive, and nor can I the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God.�?
— Graham Greene, Brighton Rock (1938) at Part 7, Chapter 11. Jun 14, 2008