: 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
With Johnson in the game, the Eagles are 120-62-1 and have a shocking 15-24 record without him.
—
Jenn McGraw, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
The other shocking thing to me was how self-destructive behaviors were framed as self growth.
—Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 25 Nov. 2025
The poster of the shocking video, which has over 14,000 views, added that state officials are aware of the incident and that the turtle shown in the clip was deceased when the man handled it, and that the sea animal had three deep slashes on its shell.
—Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 25 Nov. 2025
Semifinals saw the most shocking elimination of the season, with Whitney Leavitt being eliminated despite being one of the best celebrity dancers in the group.
—Emily Longeretta, Variety, 25 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shocking
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Jenn McGraw, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
The other shocking thing to me was how self-destructive behaviors were framed as self growth.
—Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 25 Nov. 2025
The poster of the shocking video, which has over 14,000 views, added that state officials are aware of the incident and that the turtle shown in the clip was deceased when the man handled it, and that the sea animal had three deep slashes on its shell.
—Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 25 Nov. 2025
Semifinals saw the most shocking elimination of the season, with Whitney Leavitt being eliminated despite being one of the best celebrity dancers in the group.
—Emily Longeretta, Variety, 25 Nov. 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 29 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shocking
adjective
shock·ing
: causing horror or disgust
a shocking crime
shocking behavior
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share