: extremely startling, distressing, or offensive
shocking news
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 on the Web
And somehow, that wasn't the most shocking development from the extra-long reunion.
—
Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
In a series of early morning raids on Wednesday, federal and state authorities rounded up six members of two Sureño gangs whose members have come up time and time again in some of the East Bay’s most shocking crimes of recent memory.
—Harry Harris, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
Climate change and monster storms Hurricane Allen’s shocking winds in 1980, before a noticeable trend of increasingly intense hurricanes was observed, are an important reminder that climate change does not directly cause monster hurricanes.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 29 Oct. 2025
This short plays excellently with spooky audio mixing and feels claustrophobic until the shocking last moment.
—William Earl, Variety, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shocking
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Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
In a series of early morning raids on Wednesday, federal and state authorities rounded up six members of two Sureño gangs whose members have come up time and time again in some of the East Bay’s most shocking crimes of recent memory.
—Harry Harris, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
Climate change and monster storms Hurricane Allen’s shocking winds in 1980, before a noticeable trend of increasingly intense hurricanes was observed, are an important reminder that climate change does not directly cause monster hurricanes.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 29 Oct. 2025
This short plays excellently with spooky audio mixing and feels claustrophobic until the shocking last moment.
—William Earl, Variety, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shocking
Cite this Entry
“Shocking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shocking. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shocking
adjective
shock·ing
: causing horror or disgust
a shocking crime
shocking behavior
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