Need another word that means the same as “appalling”? Find 42 synonyms and 30 related words for “appalling” in this overview.
The synonyms of “Appalling” are: dismaying, shocking, horrific, horrifying, horrible, terrible, awful, dreadful, ghastly, hideous, horrendous, frightful, atrocious, abominable, abhorrent, outrageous, hateful, loathsome, odious, gruesome, grisly, monstrous, nightmarish, heinous, harrowing, dire, vile, shameful, unspeakable, unforgivable, unpardonable, very bad, disgraceful, deplorable, hopeless, lamentable, laughable, substandard, poor, inadequate, inferior, unsatisfactory
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “appalling” as an adjective can have the following definitions:
| abhorrent | Inspiring disgust and loathing; repugnant. Racism was abhorrent to us all. |
| abominable | Very bad; terrible. Abominable workmanship. |
| atrocious | Provoking horror- Winston Churchill. Atrocious cruelties. |
| awful | Offensive or even (of persons) malicious- Ezra Pound. The awful war. |
| deplorable | Bad; unfortunate. Deplorable housing conditions in the inner city. |
| dire | (of a warning or threat) presaging disaster. The concert was dire. |
| disgraceful | Shockingly unacceptable. It is disgraceful that they should be denied unemployment benefits. |
| dismaying | Causing consternation. The list of complaints was dismaying. |
| dreadful | Causing or involving great suffering, fear, or unhappiness; extremely bad or serious. This was all a dreadful mistake. |
| frightful | Very unpleasant, serious, or shocking. A frightful crime of decapitation. |
| ghastly | Extremely unwell. Ghastly shrieks. |
| grisly | Causing horror or disgust. The town was shaken by a series of grisly crimes. |
| gruesome | Extremely unpleasant. Gruesome catering. |
| harrowing | Acutely distressing. A harrowing film about racism and violence. |
| hateful | Characterized by malice. That hateful arrogant woman. |
| heinous | (of a person or wrongful act, especially a crime) utterly odious or wicked. A battery of heinous crimes. |
| hideous | Extremely unpleasant. A hideous pattern of injustice. |
| hopeless | (informal to emphasize how bad it is) beyond hope of management or reform. With a hopeless sigh he sat down. |
| horrendous | Extremely unpleasant, horrifying, or terrible. Horrendous explosions shook the city. |
| horrible | Provoking horror- Winston Churchill. A horrible massacre. |
| horrific | Causing fear or dread or terror. Horrific injuries. |
| horrifying | Provoking horror. An alarming even horrifying picture. |
| inadequate | Not sufficient to meet a need. These labels prove to be wholly inadequate. |
| inferior | Of low or inferior quality. Inferior goods. |
| lamentable | Full of or expressing sorrow or grief. A lamentable decision. |
| laughable | Incongruous;inviting ridicule. It would have been laughable if it hadn t hurt so much. |
| loathsome | Highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust. This loathsome little swine. |
| monstrous | Shockingly brutal or cruel. The monstrous tidal wave swamped the surrounding countryside. |
| nightmarish | Of the nature of a nightmare; very frightening or unpleasant. A nightmarish eight hour journey. |
| odious | Extremely unpleasant; repulsive. Consequences odious to those you govern. |
| outrageous | Very bold and unusual and rather shocking. Spends an outrageous amount on entertainment. |
| poor | Lacking in specific resources, qualities or substances. His poor distorted limbs. |
| shameful | Deserving or bringing disgrace or shame- Rachel Carson. A shameful display of cowardice. |
| shocking | Very bad. She brought shocking news. |
| substandard | Below the usual or required standard. Substandard housing. |
| terrible | Very unwell or troubled. The stranger gave a terrible smile. |
| unforgivable | Not excusable. Losing your temper with him was unforgivable. |
| unpardonable | Not admitting of pardon. Unpardonable behavior. |
| unsatisfactory | Not satisfactory; not good enough. Years of living in unsatisfactory rented accommodation. |
| unspeakable | Exceptionally bad or displeasing. A piece of unspeakable abuse. |
| very bad | Precisely as stated. |
| vile | Causing or able to cause nausea. He has a vile temper. |
| abominable | Very bad; terrible. Abominable treatment of prisoners. |
| alarming | Worrying or disturbing. Our countryside is disappearing at an alarming rate. |
| atrocious | Shockingly brutal or cruel. Atrocious taste. |
| awful | Awfully very. An awful voice. |
| beastly | In a beastly manner. Beastly desires. |
| blamed | Expletives used informally as intensifiers. It s a blamed shame. |
| dreadful | Causing or involving great suffering, fear, or unhappiness; extremely bad or serious. Dreadful manners. |
| fearsome | Causing fear or dread or terror. The cat mewed displaying a fearsome set of teeth. |
| frightening | Causing fear or dread or terror. A frightening experience. |
| frightful | Provoking horror. A frightful mistake. |
| ghastly | Causing great horror or fear. Ghastly wounds. |
| grotesque | Comically or repulsively ugly or distorted. A figure wearing a grotesque mask. |
| harrowing | Extremely painful. A harrowing film about racism and violence. |
| hellish | Extremely evil or cruel; expressive of cruelty or befitting hell. It had been a hellish week. |
| hideous | Extremely unpleasant. A hideous pattern of injustice. |
| horrible | Provoking horror. The tea tasted horrible. |
| horrific | Causing fear or dread or terror. Horrific injuries. |
| horrifying | Provoking horror. An alarming even horrifying picture. |
| ineffable | Too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words. The ineffable name of the Deity. |
| infernal | Expletives used informally as intensifiers. The infernal heat of the forge. |
| nasty | Repugnant to the mind. Her stories are very nasty full of murder and violence. |
| sadly | In a sad manner. Sadly he died before he could see his grandchild. |
| scary | Frightening; causing fear. A scary movie. |
| stygian | Dark and dismal as of the rivers Acheron and Styx in Hades. |
| terrible | Extremely bad or serious. A terrible curse. |
| tragedy | An event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe. Greek tragedy. |
| unlovely | Not attractive; ugly. Unlovely tower blocks. |
| unpleasant | (of a person or their manner) unfriendly and inconsiderate; rude. The symptoms are extremely unpleasant. |
| unsightly | Unpleasant to look at. Unsightly billboards. |
| unspeakable | Defying expression or description. Unspeakable happiness. |
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