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May 03, 2019 Word of the Day

shock /ˈʃɑːk/ verb
shock
/ˈʃɑːk/
verb

shocks; shocked; shocking

She looks shocked.
She looks shocked.
Definition of SHOCK

1 [+ object] : to surprise and usually upset (someone)

  • The attack shocked the world.

  • His anger shocked us.

— often used as (be) shocked

  • They were shocked to discover/learn that their son was taking drugs.

— often + at or by

  • I am shocked at/by how easy it was to do.

  • Everyone was deeply shocked at/by her behavior.

  • We were shocked by the news of her death.

— often + into

  • We were shocked into silence by what we saw. [=we were so surprised and upset by what we saw that we could not say anything]

  • The news was so upsetting that people were finally shocked into (taking) action.

2 : to cause (someone) to feel horror or disgust

[+ object]

  • He enjoys shocking his readers.

  • I was shocked by their bad language.

[no object]

  • The art exhibit is meant to shock.

shocked adjective

  • She had a shocked look on her face.

  • He stood in shocked silence after hearing the news.

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