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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
  • Still, nothing in the war has seemed as startling or as consequential as their breakneck assault last week, which centered on the capture of Mokha, a major port city on the Red Sea, and Perim, a tiny island at the southern entrance to the waterway.
    — Kareem Fahim, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Back then the age of discovery was at its peak, and startling new information about what had previously been a very parochial planet was flooding into the academies of Europe and the Americas.
    — Ian Tattersall, The New York Review of Books, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of startling
Verb
  • Something about this bone-shaking noise keeps hitting us right in the darkest places of the soul.
    — Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Airborne at one point during testing, Silva reportedly inched out on the helicopter's right skid — with no safety belt — to investigate the cause of intense vibrations shaking the cockpit, according to a 2009 interview with Smithsonian Magazine.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of shaking
Verb
  • Sanders made field goals of 33, 51 and 52 yards, rebounding after yanking a 54-yard attempt short and left.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Sep. 2026
  • Once the drop trap — a simple wire cage triggered by yanking on a cord — is set up with an enticing mix of sardines and shards of roast chicken on a cardboard tray inside, everyone moves out of sight behind massive logs a few yards away.
    — Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 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
  • Strong top-line numbers can cover a surprising amount of inefficiency, so growth alone shouldn’t be taken as evidence that every part of the business is working well.
    — Dmitriy Schwarzburg, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Perhaps not surprising, some of these millionaires have stakes in investment firms or medical, dental, or legal practices.
    — Eric Zwick, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 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
  • And like any great sitcom, Friends runs the gamut from numbing brain-rot to tear-jerking sentimentality.
    — Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Even after a bailiff woke him up, Martin slumped over in his wheelchair, inside a courtroom bullpen, occasionally jerking and opening his eyes.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of jerking
Verb
  • The nurturing Moon in your sign faces shocking Uranus in your 7th House of Partnership, so your needs and someone else’s ask for balance.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 16 Sep. 2026
  • McNeil has made a career out of reliving the gritty tales of debauchery and explosive expression that gave rise to the Ramones and CBGB’s and shocking tales of New York in the 1970s.
    — Deputy Entertainment, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 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 21 Sep. 2026.

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