What does “appeal” mean?
- 1
nouna serious public request for money, help or information
Police issued an appeal for witnesses.
- 2
verbto be attractive or interesting to someone, used with “to”
The game appeals to players of all ages.
- 3
verbto formally ask a higher court or authority to change a decision
The company plans to appeal the ruling.
Appeal at a glance
- Part of speech
- noun & verb
- CEFR level
- B2 (upper intermediate)
- Pronunciation
- /əˈpil/ · uh-PEEL
How to use “appeal” correctly
“It appeals to me” means I like it; the thing is the subject, not the person. In US English you “appeal a decision”; in UK English you “appeal against” it.
Common phrases with “appeal”
- appeal for help
- appeal to sb
- broad appeal
- lose an appeal
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Synonyms (similar meaning)
- request
- attract
- plea
Word family
- appealing
- unappealing
“appeal” is on these word lists
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