1
a
: affected by shock : stricken with sudden mental or emotional disturbance
"Oh, no!" Mrs. Quimby was shocked. "How much is that going to cost?"—
Beverly Cleary
Beverly Cleary… I am so shocked to see him that I do not know what to do.—Jane Austen
Jane Austen
b
: showing or expressing shock
Her voice faltered as she saw the shocked amazement on her father's face.—Mary Norton
Mary NortonIn place of a roar at the end of the year's most anticipated race, there was only a shocked silence.—Tim Layden
Tim Layden2
of a mineral
: having a crystal structure that has been deformed by exposure to sudden extremely high pressure (as from a meteorite impact or a nuclear blast)
Grains of shocked quartz have long been used as criteria for impact (extraterrestrial objects or nuclear bombs) …—Stephen Jay Gould
Stephen Jay GouldSynonyms of shocked
Examples of shocked in a Sentence
the escaping bridegroom bid farewell to the shocked wedding guests as he ran out the door
we were shocked at the appalling conditions in the prison
the hikers were so shocked at the sight of a bear that they didn't dare move
Recent Examples on the Web
At the time, a second insider added that the entire room was so shocked that Anthony, 57, called Victoria's name over Nicola's that a silence followed.
—Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026
In the bawdy comedic scene, Tommy wakes up au natural in his hotel bed after an amorous evening with his wife, Angela Norris (Ali Larter), to find a shocked housekeeper in the hotel room.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026
Shifting from shocked to strategic Once nongovernmental organizations overcame their initial shock, their leadership teams began to respond to USAID’s demise.
—Jennifer Hadden, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2026
And because the iguanas tend to sleep in trees, getting cold shocked can sometimes cause the animals to fall from the skies in an infamous Florida phenomenon.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shocked
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Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026
In the bawdy comedic scene, Tommy wakes up au natural in his hotel bed after an amorous evening with his wife, Angela Norris (Ali Larter), to find a shocked housekeeper in the hotel room.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026
Shifting from shocked to strategic Once nongovernmental organizations overcame their initial shock, their leadership teams began to respond to USAID’s demise.
—Jennifer Hadden, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2026
And because the iguanas tend to sleep in trees, getting cold shocked can sometimes cause the animals to fall from the skies in an infamous Florida phenomenon.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shocked
Cite this Entry
“Shocked.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shocked. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.
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