aghast

adjective

ə-ˈgast

Synonyms of aghast next

: struck with terror, amazement, or horror : shocked and upset

was aghast when she heard the news

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."

Examples of aghast in a Sentence

The news left her aghast. Critics were aghast to see how awful the play was.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Emily is aghast that Sylvie even has an appetite after her betrayal. —

Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2024 Hit PLAY on the video above to watch Gilpin talk more about intimacy in Three Women, then hit the comments with your thoughts: Did Episode 7 leave you absolutely aghast?! —

Claire Franken, TVLine, 25 Oct. 2024 Forecasters were aghast at how quickly Milton picked up steam. —

NBC News, 8 Oct. 2024 The comically overwrought opening sees Bang’s hero ready his crossbow against his child (Tobias Jowett), surrounded by a vicious army and aghast townspeople. —

J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 11 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for aghast

Word History

Etymology

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

Note: Oxford English Dictionry, third edition, sees agasten as formed with Middle English gasten, though this verb is not attested until more than a century later, suggesting that gasten may have been formed by dropping the prefix from agasten. Old English gǣstan is attested only once, in Cynewulf's Juliana, and the sense appears to be closer to "afflict" than "frighten." The prefix a- in the modern adjective aghast has presumably been construed as a- entry 1.