dismay

dismay vb Dismay, appall, horrify, daunt mean to unnerve and check or deter by arousing fear, apprehension, or aversion.

Dismay suggests a loss of power to proceed either because a prospect is terrifying or disheartening, or, more often, because one is balked and perplexed or at a loss concerning how to deal with a situation

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be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go ye down against them—2 Chron 20:15-16

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here was an opponent that more than once puzzled Roosevelt, and in the end flatly dismayed him— Mencken

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who in one lifetime sees all causes lost, herself dismayed and helpless— Rukeyser

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Appall, in its most forceful use, implies an overwhelming and paralyzing dread or terror

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the sight appalled the stoutest hearts

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"Are you a man?" "Ay, and a bold one, that dare look on that which might appall the devil"— Shak.

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The word more often implies the sense of impotence aroused when one is confronted by something that perturbs, confounds, or shocks, yet is beyond one's power to alter

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an appalling waste of human life

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appalling statistics

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the unpunctuality of the Orient ... is appalling to those who come freshly from a land of fixed mealtimes and regular train services— Huxley

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1appalled by the magnitude of the tragedy— Bowers

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Horrify may emphasize a reaction of horror or of shuddering revulsion from what is ghastly or hideously offensive

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to developed sensibilities the facts of war are revolting and horrifying— Huxley

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this theme —a man ready to prostitute his sister as payment for a debt of honor—is too grotesque even to horrify us— T. S. Eliot

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Often horrify comes close to shock in meaning and implies momentary agitation occasioned by a surprising breach of the proprieties or decencies

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they were horrified by his playing golf on Sunday

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she horrified London society by pouring hot tea on a gentleman who displeased her— Amer. Guide Series: Va.

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Daunt presupposes an attempt to do something that requires courage and implies therefore a checking or scaring off by someone or something that cows or subdues

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he had been completely daunted by what he had found . . the Revolution . . . had been something against which self-assertion had been of no avail— Mary Austin

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Daunt perhaps most often occurs in negative constructions

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nothing can daunt the man whose last concern is for his own safety

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no adventure daunted her and risks stimulated her— Ellis

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Analogous words: perplex, confound, bewilder, nonplus, dumbfound, mystify, *puzzle: disconcert, rattle, faze, abash, discomfit, *embarrass: alarm, *frighten, terrify

Antonyms: cheer

Contrasted words: assure, secure, *ensure: pique, quicken, stimulate, galvanize, excite, *provoke

dismay n alarm, consternation, panic, *fear, dread, fright, terror, horror, trepidation

Analogous words: perturbing or perturbation, agitation, disquieting or disquietude, discomposing or discomposure, upsetting or upset (see corresponding verbs at DISCOMPOSE): *apprehension, foreboding

Contrasted words: *confidence, assurance, aplomb, self-possession: *courage, mettle, spirit, resolution