Meanings
comparative more appealing · superlative most appealing
- Having appeal; attractive.
Her housecoat had fallen open. She was wearing only panties and bra, which did nothing to make her scrawny, wrinkled body appealing.
1968, Carl Ruhen, The Key Club, Sydney: Scripts, page 122 more examples
Some of the most beautiful and thus appealing physical theories, including quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity, have been dogged for decades by infinities that erupt when theorists try to prod their calculations into new domains. Getting rid of these nagging infinities has probably occupied far more effort than was spent in originating the theories.
2012 January 28, Michael Riordan, “Tackling Infinity”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 30 Apr 2013, page 86Those were all landmark moments to cherish. Just as appealing was the manner in which Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Milner cut swathes down either flank, albeit through flustered full-backs who had looked poorly positioned and horribly jittery from the start.
2012 September 7, Dominic Fifield, “England start World Cup campaign with five-goal romp against Moldova”, in The Guardian
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of appeal
plural appealings
- The act of making an appeal.
The fair creature abandoned her position, and in the midst of her bitter tears and pathetic appealings, which my sense of duty alone enabled me to resist, I bore my prisoner off.
1866, Heros von Borcke, Memoirs of the Confederate War for independence
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveable to attract interest or draw favorable attention
adjective(of characters in literature or drama) evoking empathic or sympathetic feelings
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
By surface analysis, appeal + -ing.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch aantrekkelijk
- aantrekkelijkHaving appeal; attractive
Esperanto alloga
- allogaHaving appeal; attractive
French attrayant
- attrayantHaving appeal; attractive
German ansprechend, zugkräftig
- ansprechendHaving appeal; attractive
- zugkräftigHaving appeal; attractive
Hindi रुचिकर, आकर्षक
- रुचिकर (rucikar)Having appeal; attractive
- आकर्षक (ākarṣak)Having appeal; attractive
Irish tarraingteach, taitneamhach
- tarraingteachHaving appeal; attractive
- taitneamhachHaving appeal; attractive
- mealltachHaving appeal; attractive
Italian suggestivo, gradevole
- suggestivoHaving appeal; attractive
- gradevoleHaving appeal; attractive
- attraenteHaving appeal; attractive
Māori rerehua, ātanga
- rerehuaHaving appeal; attractive
- ātangaHaving appeal; attractive
- turipūHaving appeal; attractive
Russian привлекательный
- привлекательный (privlekatelʹnyj)Having appeal; attractive
Spanish atrayente, halagüeño
- atrayenteHaving appeal; attractive
- halagüeñoHaving appeal; attractive
Ukrainian прива́бливий
- прива́бливий (pryváblyvyj)Having appeal; attractive
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with appealing
Anagrams
Cite this entry
appealing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/appealing
“appealing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/appealing. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “appealing,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/appealing.
Source: appealing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.