shell shock
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of shell shock
First recorded in 1915–20
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It was just kind of a shell shock for me looking at those numbers. I’m like, ‘I thought this would be way more affordable.’”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
At its peak during the Korean War, 5,000 men were living and being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder, then known as shell shock.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2025
Three-year-old Yuna, who has shell shock, arrived at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden on 17 August and stayed inside her enclosure for a week.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2024
Those dealing with shell shock often had to be sent to hospitals far from the frontlines, and recovery was exceedingly slow as psychologists tried to help them reenter peacetime society.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022
“It was called shell shock and combat fatigue and startle reaction.”
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
