Dictionary.com

shock therapy

Save This Word!

noun
(not in technical use) any of various therapies, as insulin shock therapy or electroconvulsive therapy, that induce convulsions or unconsciousness, used for symptomatic relief in certain mental disorders.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Also called shock treatment.

Origin of shock therapy

First recorded in 1935–40
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shock therapy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shock therapy

shock therapy

shock treatment


noun
the treatment of certain psychotic conditions by injecting drugs or by passing an electric current through the brain (electroconvulsive therapy) to produce convulsions or coma
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

Cultural definitions for shock therapy

shock therapy

The treatment of a mentally ill person by passing electric shocks through the brain.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
FEEDBACK