shocking
Americanadjective
-
causing intense surprise, disgust, horror, etc.
- Synonyms:
- appalling, startling, astounding, staggering
-
very bad.
shocking manners.
adjective
-
causing shock, horror, or disgust
-
a vivid or garish shade of pink
-
informal very bad or terrible
shocking weather
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of shocking
Vocabulary lists containing shocking
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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 is shocking to read here of the coarsening and corrupting effect of such spectacles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The chief minister told reporters that "many shocking facts are emerging" as part of the CID's investigation into the exam irregularities but did not give more details, saying that "the matter is under investigation".
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
“For a program that’s been around since 2013, it was shocking that you’d come across its cancellation, effectively, in the corner of the bowels of a subpage of the internet.”
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
"It's pretty shocking," Dodemont said from her restaurant in Eupen.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
For more than six months, newspapers across the country featured front-page articles describing the testimony from witnesses, recounting every shocking and scintillating detail.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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.
