Appealing means attractive, or asking for sympathy. An appealing idea, an appealing look, less than appealing.
The two senses pull different ways: an appealing offer draws you in, and an appealing look asks something of you. It is mild praise, and less than appealing is the standard polite way of saying unpleasant.
1adjectiveappealingAttractive, or asking for sympathy.
“The idea of a quiet weekend in the countryside is very appealing.”
appealing is a quality.
Old French
apel
Middle English
apel//appel
English
appeal
English, today
appealing
Built from
by surface analysis, appeal + -ing. appeal comes from Middle English apel//appel, from Old French apel. From Middle English apel, appel (“formal accusation brought in court; a challenge to trial by combat; an appeal to a higher court or authority; plea (for mercy, protection, etc.); pealing (of bells)”)apeel, apele, appele, appelle, pele, from Old French apel (“a call”) (modern French appel (“a call; an appeal”)), from apeler (“to call; to call out”), from Latin appello#Etymology_2_2 (“to address as, call by name; to drive, move to; to land or put ashore”), alternative form adpello, from ad- (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂éd (“at; to”)) + pello (“to drive, impel, push; to hurl, propel; to banish, expel; to eject, thrust out”) + -o, ultimately from pelh₂- (“to approach”), from pel- (“to beat; to drive; to push”). a doublet of appel.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA