dismay synonyms

dismay

n.

alarm, consternation, anxiety, disheartenment; see confusion 2, fear 2.

dismay

v.

appall, horrify, daunt, frighten, terrify, petrify, unnerve, abash, disconcert, dishearten; see also confuse, discourage 1, frighten 1.

dismay suggests fear or, esp. in modern usage, discouragement at the prospect of some difficulty or problem which one does not quite know how to resolve dismayed at his lack of understanding; appall suggests terror or (now more commonly) consternation at a shocking but apparently unalterable situation an appalling death rate; horrify suggests horror or loathing (or, in a weakened sense, irritation) at that which shocks or offends one horrified at the suggestion; daunt implies a becoming disheartened in the performance of an act that requires some courage never daunted by adversity

Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.