aghast
adjective
Did you know?
If you are aghast, you might look like you've just seen a ghost, or something similarly shocking. Aghast traces back to a Middle English verb, gasten, meaning "to frighten." Gasten (which also gave us ghastly, meaning "terrible or frightening") comes from gast, a Middle English spelling of the word ghost. Gast also came to be used in English as a verb meaning "to scare." That verb is now obsolete, but its spirit lives on in words spoken by the character Edmund in William Shakespeare's King Lear: "gasted by the noise I made, full suddenly he fled."
Synonyms
- affrighted
- afraid
- alarmed
- fearful
- frightened
- horrified
- horror-struck
- hysterical
- hysteric
- scared
- scary
- shocked
- spooked
- terrified
- terrorized
Example Sentences
Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 23 Aug. 2022 Red Sox and Yankees fans would have been aghast to see Rivera having a good time with Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, and other former Sox players. Peter Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 30 July 2022 When Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine two months ago, Western observers were aghast at what appeared to be a resurgence of Russian expansionism (often dubbed revanchism). Loren Thompson, Forbes, 26 Apr. 2022 The world has been aghast at images being streamed by the connected and sophisticated people of Shanghai: people leaping from high-rises to their deaths in order to escape the lockdown. Anne Stevenson-yang, Forbes, 13 Apr. 2022 Enlarge / Purists may be aghast, but the commercial reality is that Lotus needs a volume-seller, and that means an SUV. Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 30 Mar. 2022 Many Democrats and mainstream Republicans are aghast, fearful that far-right activists are preparing to reorder Northern California and other rural parts of the state. Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2022 On the town hall Zoom before word of the decision leaked, some nominees were aghast. Matt Donnelly, Variety, 23 Feb. 2022 Some web users were aghast, calling Ryanair inappropriate or insensitive to the real suffering caused by COVID-19. Fortune, 14 Dec. 2021 See More Word History
alteration (with h after ghastly, ghost entry 1) of Middle English agast, from past participle of agasten "to frighten, become frightened," from a-, perfective prefix + gasten "to frighten" — more at abide, gast
13th century, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
aghast
adjective
aghast
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- terrified
- frightened
- horrified
- afraid
- scared
- shocked
- alarmed
- worried
- fearful
- appalled
- startled
- upset
- spooked
- affrighted
- terrorized
- panicked
- hysterical
- horror-struck
- hysteric
- scary
- nervous
- apprehensive
- anxious
- disturbed
- perturbed
- timid
- dismayed
- disquieted
- disconcerted
- agitated
- panicky
- timorous
- shrinking
- daunted
- wary
- fainthearted
- intimidated
- uneasy
- tremulous
- unnerved
- cowed
- panic-stricken
- cautious
- phobic
- chicken
- craven
- careful
- jittery
- fearsome
- shy
- pusillanimous
- coward
- jumpy
- cowardly
- funky
- gutless
- tremulant
- heedful
- skittish
- unadventurous
- prudent
- lily-livered
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- unafraid
- fearless
- daring
- audacious
- spirited
- adventurous
- bold
- unperturbed
- brave
- plucky
- courageous
- intrepid
- gutsy
- spunky
- venturesome
- sure
- adventuresome
- heroic
- valiant
- assured
- confident
- dashing
- daredevil
- stalwart
- undaunted
- collected
- hardy
- gallant
- sanguine
- composed
- cool
- valorous
- venturous
- stout
- dauntless
- resolute
- heroical
- stouthearted
- manful
- lionhearted