jolt

1 of 2

noun

ˈjōlt

: an abrupt, sharp, jerky blow or movement

awoke with a jolt

a(1)

: a sudden feeling of shock, surprise, or disappointment

the news gave them a jolt

(2)

: an event or development causing such a feeling

the defeat was quite a jolt

: a serious setback or reverse

a severe financial jolt

: a small but potent or bracing portion of something

a jolt of horseradish

jolty

ˈjōl-tē

adjective

jolt

2 of 2

verb

jolted; jolting; jolts

transitive verb

: to disturb the composure of : shock

crudely jolted out of that mood

Virginia Woolf

an announcement that jolted the community

: to interfere with roughly, abruptly, and disconcertingly

determination to pursue his own course was jolted badly

F. L. Paxson

: to cause to move with a sudden jerky motion

passengers being jolted along a bumpy road

: to give a knock or blow to

specifically : to jar with a quick or hard blow

intransitive verb

: to move with a sudden jerky motion

jolter noun

Example Sentences

Noun I sprang out of bed with a jolt. The car stopped with a jolt. I got quite a jolt when I heard the door slam. The defeat was quite a jolt to the team. The stock market suffered a major jolt yesterday. She needed a jolt of caffeine to start her day. The unexpected praise he received gave him a jolt of confidence. Verb The explosion jolted the ship. He was jolted forward when the bus stopped suddenly. The loud bang jolted me awake. The attack jolted the country into action. She jolted the medical world with her announcement. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Of course, caffeine can provide that helpful early morning jolt—waking our senses into reality and affecting neurotransmitters in the brain associated with adrenaline and energy.

Byalexa Mikhail, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2022 Rallying from what felt like rock bottom on a Thursday in Arizona, the Padres grabbed two series victories by showing depth, versatility and a timely jolt of energy.

Bryce Millercolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Sep. 2022 The onions heighten the sweetness of the eggplant, and that final jolt of kashk makes the dip exquisitely creamy.

Cesar Hernandez, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Sep. 2022 As a result, many have become attracted to an understanding of freedom that includes a model of education pluralism, supporting state funding for a wide variety of schools that could in turn send an innovative jolt through American education.

Harry Bruinius, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Sep. 2022 That constant feeling of rupture gave Good Fight its jolt, and made a lot of wannabe-deep recent shows seem intellectually bankrupt, even cowardly, by comparison.

Darren Franich, EW.com, 8 Sep. 2022 Ellie’s affable owners, Bob and Ellie Smela, decided to sell their throwback diner to new owners and retire rather than jolt customers with higher meal costs caused by inflation.

Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 7 Sep. 2022 Telemedicine, the practice of providing care in the home through Zoom and other means, got a jolt during the pandemic, and Medicare greatly expanded coverage for such care in March 2020.

Lauren Hirsch, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Sep. 2022 So many people have felt what Fletcher has, that initial jolt of an ex’s new life without you.

Abby Diamond, Billboard, 2 Sep. 2022

Verb

The Longhorns may get starting quarterback Quinn Ewers back, which would undoubtedly jolt their passing game.

USA TODAY, 23 Sep. 2022 Friday’s assault on Rushdie at Chautauqua should jolt us into acknowledging that the presumption of danger has become the norm for many writers.

Ron Charles, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2022 Turbulence, which causes planes to suddenly jolt while in flight, is considered a fairly normal occurrence and nothing to fear.

Gina Martinez, CBS News, 8 Aug. 2022 The 59-year-old aims to change that and hopes the recent turmoil caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will jolt European leaders into action.

Frank Jordans, Orlando Sentinel, 23 June 2022 Democrats are hopeful that the possibility of Roe being overturned will jolt their voters into action.

Daniel Strauss, The New Republic, 6 May 2022 Investors hoping a strong start to earnings season would jolt the stock market from its slump haven’t gotten much satisfaction.

Karen Langley And Pia Singh, WSJ, 17 July 2022 Occasionally the rock masses on either side of these faults jolt against each other instead of sliding slowly, leading to what are called strike-slip earthquakes.

Sasha Warren, Scientific American, 24 June 2022 Its energetic photons can jolt electrons, liberating them and producing holes.

Frank Wilczek, WSJ, 19 May 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'jolt.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.