appalling

/əˈpɔːlɪŋ/

//əˈpɔːlɪŋ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"appalling" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“appalling” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,750. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,750
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of appall

Corpus desk

Index EN-appalling · appalling · English

appalling · rank #15,750 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,750
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH apostle

Nearest frequency peer: apostle (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “appalling”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “appalling” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

appalling vs applying
78% similar
appalling vs appealing
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for appalling
PropertyValue
Headwordappalling
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈpɔːlɪŋ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#15,750
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “appalling”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).appallinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “apostle” (#15,749), “applaud” (#15,751), “antibody” (#15,748). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “appalling” is #15,750. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around appalling (IPA /əˈpɔːlɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #15,750 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of appall".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for appalling, with forms such as "apalling", "apaplling", and "appalilng". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "applying", "appealing", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: By surface analysis, appall + -ing. The correct English form is appalling, spelled A-P-P-A-L-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of appall

Etymology

By surface analysis, appall + -ing.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apalling
  • apaplling
  • appalilng
  • appaling
  • appallign
  • appallingg
  • appallinng
  • appallnig
  • applaling
  • papalling

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of appalling - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

apalling1apaplling2appalilng2appaling1appallign2appallingg1appallinng1appallnig2
Edit distance from "appalling"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "appalling"?
"appalling" is spelled A-P-P-A-L-L-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈpɔːlɪŋ/.
What does "appalling" mean?
As a verb, "appalling" means: present participle and gerund of appall
What words are commonly confused with "appalling"?
"appalling" is commonly confused with "applying", "appealing". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "appalling"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "appalling" is /əˈpɔːlɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "appalling"?
By surface analysis, appall + -ing. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "appalling", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

unmarried#15,729unleashed#15,728turbulent#15,724criterion#15,790

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

apostle10 variantsBelarus10 variantsafforded10 variantsbondage10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list