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Electrum Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

'appalled by' or 'appalled at'?

I was appalled by the violence.
I was appalled at the violence.

An online search shows 110,000 vs. 70,000 results.
Is there any perceptible meaning in difference? Any rule?

I prefer appalled at.
  

Top answer

I prefer the same, but both are in use. The google results are statistically even, and if I do a COCA (a more reputable corpus) search, I get: 'at' - 316 'by' - 405

— Mister Micawber

  • I prefer the same, but both are in use.
  • The google results are statistically even, and if I do a COCA (a more reputable corpus) search, I get: 'at' - 316 'by' - 405
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3 Answers
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I prefer the same, but both are in use. The google results are statistically even, and if I do a COCA (a more reputable corpus) search, I get:

'at' - 316
'by' - 405
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Somebody in the English royal family said 'appalled at', so it must be the King's English. Thanks for the information and the opinion.
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Hmmm... Can't you be scared at the sight of something? I'm not an expert, but it seems like these things that prefer a noun clause or a sentence. I'm scared of you and I'm scared at the sight of you. What does everyone think?

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