aghast
pronunciation
How to pronounce aghast in British English:
UK [əˈgɑ:st]
How to pronounce aghast in American English:
US [əˈgæst]
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- Adjective:
- struck with fear, dread, or consternation
Word Origin
- aghast
- aghast: [13] Aghast was originally the past participle of a verb, agasten ‘frighten’, which in turn was based on the Old English verb gǣstan ‘torment’. The spelling with gh did not finally become established until the 18th century, and in fact aghast was the last in a series of etymologically related words in the general semantic area of ‘fear’ and ‘horror’ to undergo this transformation. It seems to have acquired its gh by association with ghastly, which in turn got it from ghost (probably under the ultimate influence of Flemish gheest).
- aghast (adj.)
- c. 1300, agast, "terrified," past participle of Middle English agasten "to frighten" (c. 1200), from a- intensive prefix + Old English gæstan "to terrify," from gæst "spirit, ghost" (see ghost). The -gh- spelling appeared early 15c. in Scottish and is possibly a Flemish influence, or after ghost, etc. It became general after 1700.
Synonym
Example
- 1. In europe and the us , officials are aghast .
- 2. To this has been added a big new worry : a resurgence of the xenophobic attacks in 2008 that left at least 62 dead and the country aghast .
- 3. Many democrats were aghast that bill clinton favoured such a bill .
- 4. A young woman visiting my home was aghast at our numerous and prominently displayed rows of books .
- 5. But the strongest explanatory variable for parisian rudeness ( and I 'm aghast it 's taken me a decade to work this out ) is paris 's very perfection .