shocked

adjective

ˈshäkt 

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

… I am so shocked to see him that I do not know what to do.

—Jane Austen

b

: showing or expressing shock

Her voice faltered as she saw the shocked amazement on her father's face.

—Mary Norton

In place of a roar at the end of the year's most anticipated race, there was only a shocked silence.

—Tim Layden

2

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

Synonyms

• amazed
• astonished
• astounded
• awestruck
• awestricken
• bowled over
• dumbfounded
• dumfounded
• dumbstruck
• flabbergasted
• stunned
• stupefied
• thunderstruck

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

While guest hosting Today with Jenna & Friends on Tuesday, May 20, Guthrie, 53, shared that her son Charley, 8, asked her not to come to his school's party, leaving her good friend Jenna Bush Hager, 43, shocked. —Hannah Sacks, People.com, 20 May 2025

So when Green’s ex reached out, unprompted, Green was shocked. —Megan Farokhmanesh, Wired News, 19 May 2025

Relief at her safe dismount is swiftly replaced with shocked disbelief. —Gayle Sequeira, Vulture, 16 May 2025

The video of Jayden's shocked reaction has gone viral with over 954,000 views. —Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1675, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing shocked

• shell-shocked
• shocked and dismayed

Rhymes for shocked

• concoct
• deadlocked
• landlocked
• padlocked
• unblocked
• unlocked
• balked
• blocked
• chalked
• clocked
• cocked
• docked