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shell-shocked

British  

adjective

  1. suffering from shell shock

  2. in a state of stunned confusion or shock; dazed

"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

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.

After the match, the shell-shocked Sharapova explained that the tricky winds made her unsure whether her balls were going to land in, undermining her laser-like groundstokes and confidence.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 7, 2026

A ferocious turning of the screw against a shell-shocked team.

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026

“People are shell-shocked right now,” Chris Diodato, a financial planner focusing on early retirement and founder of Wellth Financial Planning, told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 3, 2025

Stokes admitted he felt "shell-shocked" after their defeat on Saturday.

From BBC • Nov. 22, 2025

We all looked shell-shocked, and Dri looked away.

From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin

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.