shell shock

noun

Nearby words

shell gland, shell jacket, shell out, shell pink, shell program, shell shock, shell star, shell steak, shell suit, shell-like, shell-shocked

Origin of shell shock

First recorded in 1915–20

Related forms

shell-shocked, shell·shocked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for shell-shocked

“God, please cure the regime,” says a shell-shocked Syrian woman.
'E-Team': James Foley's Last Film|Marlow Stern|August 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When the towers fell, I was shell-shocked, struggling to find words.
New York Journalists Remember the First Moments of 9/11|Abby Haglage|September 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The story of my life: when I lose, people are shell-shocked to see me play this way.
Roger Federer’s U.S. Open Defeat Was Bad, but He’s Not Dead Yet|Sujay Kumar|September 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The entire nation is mourning the news, shell-shocked by images of wailing children fleeing the schools single file.
What We Know So Far About Connecticut School Shooter Adam Lanza|Kevin Fallon|December 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST

This is not the first election cycle in which Republicans have been shell-shocked by reality.
Republicans Allowed Karl Rove to Mislead Them Again|Matt Latimer|November 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
All about were soldiers; slightly wounded, gassed, shell-shocked, or just plain sick or exhausted.
With the Doughboy in France|Edward Hungerford
Horror has shell-shocked every one, civilians as well as fighting-men.
The Kingdom Round the Corner|Coningsby Dawson
She was now sending it to a hospital for shell-shocked officers.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 156, April 23, 1919|Various
I have never met anywhere in France such a happy, hopeful, cheerful crowd as that bunch of shell-shocked boys.
Soldier Silhouettes on our Front|William L. Stidger
I got shell-shocked the very same night I met that fellow, and that's got something to do with it, maybe.
Tom Slade at Black Lake|Percy Keese Fitzhugh

British Dictionary definitions for shell-shocked (1 of 2)

shell-shocked

adjective

suffering from shell shock

in a state of stunned confusion or shock; dazed

British Dictionary definitions for shell-shocked (2 of 2)

shell shock

noun

loss of sight, memory, etc, resulting from psychological strain during prolonged engagement in warfareAlso called: combat neurosis

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for shell-shocked

shell shock

n.

combat fatigue