shocking

adjective

shock·​ing ˈshä-kiŋ 

: extremely startling, distressing, or offensive

shocking news

shockingly

ˈshä-kiŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of shocking

• startling
• surprising
• amazing
• stunning
• astonishing

Examples of shocking in a Sentence

The number of young teenagers who smoke is shocking.

a shocking waste of money

The building is in a shocking state.

Recent Examples on the Web

There are shocking twists but on such a grand scale that the urge to laugh is as strong as the urge to scream. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 10 Aug. 2026

Raz and Issacharoff scrapped their first scripts for Season 5 following the October 7 attack and reformulated with that shocking event at the center of the story. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 10 Aug. 2026

Dallas gave up one of the two first-round picks acquired in the shocking trade that sent star pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers just a week before the opener last year. — ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026

Well, the opening scene of episode two, which came out Sunday, was nothing short of shocking as Joe is stripped and searched for the tracking piece in her. — David Hookstead Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1653, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing shocking

• shocking pink

Rhymes for shocking

• blocking
• calking
• caulking
• chalking
• clocking
• cocking
• docking
• flocking
• gawking
• knocking
• locking
• mocking

Kids Definition

shocking

adjective

shock·​ing

: causing horror or disgust

a shocking crime

shocking behavior

shockingly

-iŋ-lē 

adverb