appalling

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
14
Words With Friends
20
Letters
9
Pronunciation
/əˈpɔːlɪŋ/

Definition of appalling

3 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included

verb

  1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present)present participle and gerund of appall
See all 3 definitions

verb

  1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present)present participle and gerund of appall

adj

  1. Horrifying and astonishing.
    “That was an appalling waste of money.”
  2. Extremely unfavorable; terrible.
    “Sir Thomas Royden, Chairman of the L.M.S.R., and Mr. Robert Holland-Martin, Chairman of the Southern Railway, both deplored the wholesale robbery and petty pilferage which have increased until they have reached appalling dimensions.”
    “Karius has too much previous for this to be considered a one-off and, as goalkeeping mistakes go, his errors in the 51st and 83rd minutes were as bad as one another. In fact, they were not just bad. They were appalling, so wretched it was difficult to recall a worse goalkeeping performance in any major final through the years.”
    “All is well until Treorchy, where the platform is swamped by teenagers who have been attending an event. Around four dozen unescorted 12 to 16 year-olds swarm aboard and begin to run riot through the train. Their behaviour is appalling and the presence of CCTV no deterrent.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

By surface analysis, appall + -ing.

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