shocking

play

adjective shock·ing \ ˈshä-kiŋ \

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of shocking

:extremely startling, distressing, or offensive

shocking news

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shockingly

play \ˈshä-kiŋ-lē\ adverb

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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 of shocking from the Web

So that was shocking because Indiana just gave him away.

— scott horner, Indianapolis Star, "Kevin Durant: Pacers gave away Paul George," 27 Aug. 2017
Too bad that the film whiffs it with Allan Loeb’s script, which is no more creative in generating shocking family secrets than a random soap opera.

— colin covert, kansascity, "‘Only Living Boy in New York’ lacks life," 23 Aug. 2017
This match was the second-to-last match of the night, and featured a fairly shocking result.

— baltimoresun.com, "Lesnar retains title in wild SummerSlam main event," 21 Aug. 2017
Their pessimism was reflected in another shocking recent poll showing that more than 50 percent of Colombians fear that the country is at risk of turning into Venezuela at some point in the future.

— chicagotribune.com, "Cocaine is booming in Colombia and the president is tanking," 11 Aug. 2017
In a completely non-shocking turn of events that absolutely everyone saw coming, Zendaya has slayed the red carpet again.

— kelsey stiegman, Seventeen, "Zendaya Basically Wore Sequined Pajamas on the Red Carpet," 11 Aug. 2017
And in a shocking display of injustice, the city of Flint recently threatened, under this same confiscatory tax law, to take homes from residents who refuse to pay their water bills due to the city’s crisis with tainted water.

— christina martin, National Review, "Michigan Turns Foreclosure into a Government Self-Enrichment Machine," 1 Aug. 2017
All three of those movies were also directed by Villeneuve, so the news of Jóhannsson’s involvement with Blade Runner 2049 was not at all shocking.

— emma stefansky, HWD, "Film Score Rockstar Hans Zimmer Reportedly Taking Over Composing Duties for Blade Runner 2049," 30 July 2017
The vote of no confidence is believed to be the first of its kind and was shocking because Deters has long enjoyed support from the law enforcement community for his tough-on-crime stances.

— sharon coolidge, Cincinnati.com, "FOP president: I can't collaborate with people 'punching me in the nose'," 25 July 2017

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