aghast
/əˈɡæst/adjective
aghast is spelled A-G-H-A-S-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, aghast means “Terrified; struck with amazement; showing signs of terror or horror” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in aghast?
| Letters | 6: A-G-H-A-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,767th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is aghast?
Aghast appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce aghast?
- US /əˈɡæst/
- UK /əˈɡɑːst/
- /əˈɡast/
Aghast has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-aghast.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-aghast.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with aghast?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as aghast from its last stressed vowel (/æst/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of aghast
- more aghast comparative
- most aghast superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does aghast mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Terrified; struck with amazement; showing signs of terror or horror.
I was aghast when the incident unfolded in front of me.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Aghast in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense terrified:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | effaré, stupéfait, épouvanté, paniqué, effrayé, affolé |
| German | bestürzt, zutiefst erschrocken, fassungslos |
| Portuguese | pasmo |
| Spanish | espantado, aterrado, horrorizado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does aghast come from?
From Middle English agast, agasted, past participle of agasten (“to terrify”), from Old English a- (compare with Gothic 𐌿𐍃- (us-), German er-, originally meaning "out") + gæstan (“to terrify, torment”): compare Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (usgaisjan, “to terrify”, literally “to fix, to root to the spot with terror”); akin to Latin haerere (“to stick fast, cling”). By surface analysis, a- + ghast/gast. See gaze.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).