appall

English

From Middle English apallen, from Old French apalir (“to grow pale, make pale”); a (Latin ad) + palir (“to grow pale, to make pale”), pâle (“pale”). See pale (adj.) and compare with pall.

appall (third-person singular simple present appalls, present participle appalling, simple past and past participle appalled)

(transitive) To fill with horror or indignation; to dismay.
Synonyms: terrify, daunt, frighten, scare, depress, (archaic) affright; see also Thesaurus:frighten

The evidence put forth at the court appalled most of the jury.
- 1702–1704, Edward Earl of Clarendon, “(please specify |book=I to XVI)”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the Theater, published 1707, →OCLC:
  The house of peers was somewhat appalled at this alarum.
(transitive, obsolete) To make pale; to blanch.
- c. 1527–1542, Thomas Wyatt, “Thanſwere that ye made to me my dere”, in Egerton MS 2711‎, page 63r:
  Thanſwere that ye made to me my dere
  whañ I did ſewe for my poore hartes redreſſe
  hathe ſo apalld my countenaunce
(transitive, obsolete) To weaken; to reduce in strength
- 1601, C Plinius Secundus , “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. , (please specify |tome=1 or 2), London: Adam Islip, →OCLC:
  wine of it owne nature will not congeale and freeze, onely it will loose the strength, and become appalled in extremitie of cold.
(intransitive, obsolete) To grow faint; to become weak; to become dismayed or discouraged.
(intransitive, obsolete) To lose flavor or to become stale.

Most British dictionaries consider appal the sole standard UK spelling (although, as with other words ending in a single vowel followed by an l, the l is always doubled for derivatives such as appalling).

to depress or discourage with fear; to impress with fear