jolting 1 of 2

adjective

as in startling
causing a strong emotional reaction because of unexpectedness the jolting news about our friend's premature death

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

jolting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of jolt
1
as in shaking
to make a series of small irregular or violent movements the roller coaster car jerked and jolted as it coursed along the old wooden tracks

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in yanking
to move or cause to move with a sharp quick motion she jolted the door open with her elbow

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in appalling
to cause an unpleasant surprise for the sneak terrorist attack jolted the country out of its indolence and indifference

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of jolting
Verb
Oil prices have been swinging for months and were as high as $102 per barrel at one point during the conflict, jolting already stubbornly high inflation. — Damian J. Troise, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026 The royal, who was seen repeatedly blinking before jolting awake, was attending the annual ANZAC Day service at London's Westminster Abbey, which is held to commemorate Commonwealth soldiers from Australia, New Zealand and Canada who served and died in wars and peacekeeping operations. — Jennifer Hassan, USA Today, 19 June 2026 On social media, residents across the area described the earthquake jolting their homes and rattling windows and doors. — William B. Davis, New York Times, 4 June 2026 And while cinematically the evidence may not yet be persuasive, with a young generation listening to its own instincts and economically jolting a sclerotic system, the parallel feels bang-on. — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 31 May 2026 Prices have spiked for oil, gas and several related products, jolting the world economy. — Mariam Fam, Chicago Tribune, 25 May 2026 Its closure has caused a spike in the price of oil, gas, and several downstream products, jolting the world economy. — Samy Magdy, Fortune, 24 May 2026 Prices have spiked for oil, gas and several downstream products, jolting the world economy. — ABC News, 24 May 2026 Chloe Claudel, picking up on that thread, directs the play in a cleverly glitchy mode, giving you normality with sudden, jolting gestures that move it into territory that’s unsettling, hilarious, or oddly serene. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 13 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jolting
  1. startling
  2. shaking
  3. yanking
  4. appalling
  5. surprising
  6. shuddering
  7. jerking
  8. shocking
Adjective
  • The Warren Court’s relative respect for federal laws was thus noticeable but not startling.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Most notable were the startling bear signs, alerting us to the presence of Asian black bears in the area.
    — Everett Potter, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of startling
Verb
  • That afternoon, the president, inside the exposition’s ornate Temple of Music, greeted members of the public, shaking hands and warmly inviting them to explore the fair.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The handcuffs were taken off, and he was allowed to board, shaking with shock.
    — Shimon Prokupecz, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of shaking
Verb
  • The episode feinted toward genuine rapprochement before yanking the rug out, leaving the Gang pelted with an industrial-grade indoor blizzard and then happily chucking rocks at passing trains, as was Mac and Charlie’s childhood tradition.
    — Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 28 July 2026
  • The tentacular Scylla is seen briefly but makes an impact, yanking sailors off Odysseus’s ship in a series of loud jump scares.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 July 2026
Definition of yanking
Verb
  • The young Forster recoiled from the school’s culture of authoritarianism and militaristic chauvinism, which may have found expression in the students’ often appalling attitudes toward their own mothers.
    — Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 7 May 2026
  • Of all the recent poster boys for appalling misbehavior by the State Police, Michael Proctor would of course rank number one.
    — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2026
Definition of appalling
Adjective
  • For something with only 256 pixels to play with, people have found a surprising number of things to put on them.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Paranormal Activity understands just how much fun that can be, crafting a story so suspenseful, so surprising and so startling that the audience’s screams become a soundtrack all their own.
    — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of surprising
Verb
  • There’s the studio version, which has some really interesting production, with Meg’s shuddering percussion that eventually grates and distracts, and Jack’s very chunky guitar.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026
  • These seemingly innocuous incidents attain new significance as they’re revisited alongside a slow crescendo that suddenly turns to shuddering piano chords on the track’s bridge.
    — Nick Ayres DeMasi, Pitchfork, 1 July 2026
Definition of shuddering
Verb
  • Stuttering lines, on the left, jerking up and down, denote the rattle of guns; on the right, the lines are all but flat, as silence descends.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Logan Howlett, got a tear-jerking send-off in James Mangold’s Logan.
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 27 July 2026
Definition of jerking
Verb
  • In 1988, 27-year-old Japanese American graphic artist Karen Toshima was killed by a stray bullet during a gang confrontation on Broxton Avenue, shocking Angelenos who had treated gun violence as a problem largely confined to poor parts of the city.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 28 Aug. 2026
  • On Monday June 29, a bomb exploded on the doorstep of Yermolaiev’s luxury apartment in Monaco, gravely injuring the Ukrainian millionaire and shocking residents of the wealthy city state.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of shocking

Browse Nearby Words

jolted
jolting
jolts
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Cite this Entry

“Jolting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jolting. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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