Appeal Definition

ə-pēl

appealed, appealing, appeals

noun

appeals

An earnest or urgent request, entreaty, or supplication.

American Heritage

A call upon some authority or person for a decision, opinion, etc.

Webster's New World

A resort to a higher authority or greater power, as for sanction, corroboration, or a decision.

An appeal to reason; an appeal to her listener's sympathy.

American Heritage

An urgent request for help, sympathy, etc.

Webster's New World

A higher court's review of the correctness of a decision by a lower court.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

verb

appealed, appealing, appeals

To make an earnest or urgent request, as for help.

American Heritage

To submit (a lower court's ruling, verdict, etc.) to a higher court for review.

Webster's New World

To appeal a law case to a higher court.

Webster's New World

To have recourse, as for corroboration; resort.

I appeal to your sense of justice.

American Heritage

To accuse of a crime.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

Synonyms:
catch one's eye
please
beguile
enchant
attract one's interest
intrigue
captivate
invite
awaken a response
tantalize
tempt
allure
entice
fascinate
engage

Antonyms:

idiom

on appeal

In the process of being appealed; while being appealed.

American Heritage

on appeal

being reviewed or pending review by an appellate court

Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Appeal

Noun

Singular:

appeal

Plural:

appeals

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Appeal

on appeal
on appeal

Origin of Appeal

Middle English apel from Old French from apeler to appeal from Latin appellāre to entreat pel-⁵ in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From Old French apeler, from Latin appellō.

From Wiktionary