appalls

verb

variants also appals
present tense third-person singular of appall
as in shocks
to cause an unpleasant surprise for conditions inside the house overrun with cats simply appalled animal control officers

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for appalls
  1. shocks
  2. horrifies
  3. frightens
  4. stuns
Verb
  • Triple murder shocks Miami Machado and Sierra, who had a history of domestic violence, split up shortly before the killings.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2026
  • One team usually shocks the world with a run to the postseason.
    — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of shocks
Verb
  • Watching how the United States treats detainees horrifies many Canadians, said Julia Sande, an immigration attorney with Amnesty International.
    — Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 29 July 2026
  • Sunday was another game-long display of why Wembanyama horrifies opponents from either side of the ball.
    — James Jackson, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Definition of horrifies
Verb
  • The prospect of Sean Steur or Lewis Hall — whose contract situation Wilson refused to be drawn on, despite being asked three times — leaving is not something which frightens the hierarchy.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Penelope, too, is asked to occupy a landscape that frightens her, not only as a neurodivergent child in a neurotypical culture, but as a child now situated in an adult world.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of frightens
Verb
  • Haslet Eaton stuns Keller Central Haslet Eaton upset Keller Central on Thursday, earning a 28-27 victory in a thriller.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Innanen stuns as Paul Baker — full name all the time — a Canadian newcomer to the group who becomes integral to his friends’ emotional processing all while operating as the resident Gen-Z eye candy.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of stuns
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

appallingly
appalls
appanage
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Cite this Entry

“Appalls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/appalls. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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