gobsmacked

adjective

gob·​smacked ˈgäb-ˌsmakt 

chiefly British, informal

: overwhelmed with wonder, surprise, or shock : astounded

Several minutes later I touch the bottom, pleased to discover that Louise—despite all her experience exploring caves elsewhere in the world—is as gobsmacked as I am. "This place is huge, and daylit," she says, her face glazed with awe.

—Gregory Crouch

Thus, when the cell-phone video surfaced, fashion insiders were so gobsmacked that to this day they'll tell you where they were when they first heard about it.

—Ingrid Sischy

Examples of gobsmacked in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This milestone Fourth of July, the celebrations will go on without the man who, as a gobsmacked boy, never wanted the fireworks to end. — Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 3 July 2026

The hard part will be fending off the attention of gobsmacked friends at the party. — Kathryn Streeter, Southern Living, 17 June 2026

Everyone was just staggered by events — gobsmacked — and there was near universal agreement that what was happening in Afghanistan was a fiasco of historic proportions. — Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 12 Mar. 2026

Hill handed him $100, leaving Pawley gobsmacked. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

gob entry 2 + smack entry 4 + -ed entry 1

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gobsmacked

• artefact
• artifact
• counteract
• inexact
• interact
• noncontact
• reenact
• subcontract
• abstract
• attacked
• attract
• contact