Definition of shocking
: extremely startling, distressing, or offensive shocking news
People Are Reading
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
-
The London Bridge attack and a similar one in March near the heart of Britain's democracy may have been shocking, but authorities have known for years that such incidents were coming.
-
And the shocking incident spurred the question: why would a teenage girl - seemingly unprovoked - brutally attack a complete stranger?
-
Jordan's shocking first retirement in 1993 ended any chance for his Bulls to play in seven straight championship series, though their 6-0 mark over eight seasons is a nice consolation prize.
-
On a day when Northwest Catholic girls track and field did its best to steal the spotlight with a shocking Class M championship, the Bloomfield boys returned to their old ways, winning the program's 11th straight class title Tuesday.
-
The NCIS investigation would lead to a shocking discovery.
-
Raised Eyebrows To many long-time Brazil watchers, the allegations are shocking but not altogether surprising.
-
The shocking revelation came via a short message to participants from the event’s board of directors Friday.
-
While none of that may be exactly shocking, the report on Facebook—perhaps the most popular publisher of media in the history of the world—
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.
1655
First Known Use of shocking
1655
SHOCKING Defined for English Language Learners
shocking
playDefinition of shocking for English Language Learners
-
: very surprising and upsetting or causing a sudden feeling of horror or disgust
-
: very bad
SHOCKING Defined for Kids
shocking
playDefinition of shocking for Students
1 : causing surprise, horror, or disgust shocking news
2 : being intense or bright in color shocking pink boots
shockingly
adverbLearn More about shocking
-
See words that rhyme with shocking Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for shocking Spanish Central: Translation of shocking Nglish: Translation of shocking for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of shocking for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up shocking? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!