aghast

English

Etymology

From Middle English agast, agasted, past participle of agasten (“to terrify”), from Old English prefix a- (compare with Gothic 𐌿𐍃- (us-), German er-, originally meaning "out") + gæstan (“to terrify, torment”): compare Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (usgaisjan, “to terrify”, literally “to fix, to root to the spot with terror”); akin to Latin haerere (“to stick fast, cling”). See gaze, hesitate.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʌˈɡæst/

  Rhymes: -æst, -ɑːst

Adjective

aghast (comparative more aghast, superlative most aghast)

1. Terrified; struck with amazement; showing signs of terror or horror.
   • 1902, The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle.

     And while the revellers stood aghast at the fury of the man, one more wicked or, it may be, more drunken than the rest, cried out that they should put the hounds upon her.

   • 1985, Les Misérables, the song "Red and Black"

     I am agog! I am aghast! Is Marius in love at last?

Translations

terrified

Armenian: զարհուրած (hy) (zarhurac), սարսափած (hy) (sarsapʿac), շվարած (hy) (švarac) Bulgarian: ужасен (bg), слисан (bg) Finnish: kauhistunut (fi) French: effaré (fr), stupéfait (fr), épouvanté (fr), paniqué (fr), effrayé (fr), affolé (fr), pantois (fr) Georgian: თავზარდაცემული (ka) (t’avzardac’emuli)

Italian: terrorizzato (it), spaventato (it), sgomento (it) Portuguese: pasmo (pt) m. Romanian: îngrozit (ro) Russian: ошеломлённый (ru) Spanish: espantado (es), aterrado (es), horrorizado (es), asustado (es), pasmado (es), atemorizado (es) Swedish: förskräckt (sv), bestört (sv), häpen (sv)

Anagrams

• Gathas