appall
/əˈpɔːl/
"appall" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“appall” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To fill with horror or indignation; to dismay.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | appall |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /əˈpɔːl/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “appall” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for appall is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈpɔːl/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for appall, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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”), from pallere. See pale (adj.) and compare with pall. The correct English form is appall, spelled A-P-P-A-L-L.
Definition
- 1To fill with horror or indignation; to dismay.
- 2To make pale; to blanch.
- 3To weaken; to reduce in strength
- 4To grow faint; to become weak; to become dismayed or discouraged.
- 5To lose flavor or to become stale.
Etymology
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”), from pallere. See pale (adj.) and compare with pall.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “appall”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-P-P-A-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əˈpɔːl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.