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
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 Israel launched airstrikes on central and western Iran after Tehran fired missiles at Israel, jolting major cities with explosions and raising fears the region is sliding back toward all-out war. — Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 8 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
  • It’s pretty commonly known, and not very startling, that free-ranging cats eat birds and small rodents.
    — Christopher A. Lepczyk, The Conversation, 8 July 2026
  • Statisticians then analyzed these sequences and made a startling discovery.
    — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 7 July 2026
Definition of startling
Verb
  • Structure information summary Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are highly resistant to earthquake shaking, though some vulnerable structures exist.
    — CA Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 11 July 2026
  • Honestly, some of these systems still leave me shaking my head.
    — Demetri Giannikopoulos, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
Definition of shaking
Verb
  • Pinned beneath her rotting legs in his recliner chair, Loftis narrowly escapes by yanking its lever, catapulting the hag over his head.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 15 July 2026
  • Video also showed the man climbing onto the roof of the car and yanking pieces of the LiDAR sensor that sits on the roof of Waymo cars and helps the vehicles map and navigate.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 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
  • Irving Stone’s Michelangelo novel, The Agony and the Ecstasy, introduced me to the idea of the artist, the miracle of a person bringing something wholly new and surprising into the world.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 July 2026
  • There wasn’t much that was surprising, though a complimentary shoe-shining and pant-pressing service was a nice touch.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 July 2026
Definition of surprising
Verb
  • 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
  • Choose Baits with Vibration Lipless crankbaits earn their keep each spring, as their shuddering motion creates the bait-mimicking tremors to which bass respond.
    — David A. Brown, Outdoor Life, 1 July 2026
Definition of shuddering
Verb
  • Watching their relationship devolve (never more so than when their sperm donor, a rakish, motorcycle-driving restaurant owner played by Mark Ruffalo, enters the scene) is most definitely a tear-jerking experience, as is the film’s final scene.
    — Liam Hess, Vogue, 28 June 2026
  • Some were petty — like Reese committing a foul against Clark, then jerking her head back, impersonating Clark as a flopper.
    — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 27 June 2026
Definition of jerking
Verb
  • The payments were introduced following a 2024 assassination attempt on Fico, who was shot and gravely wounded after a government meeting, shocking the small country and reverberating across Europe.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 July 2026
  • Cape Verde, the ultimate underdog, went toe-to-toe with a primary contender, shocking the soccer world with a 0-0 draw against Spain.
    — Amna Subhan, AJC.com, 1 July 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 18 Jul. 2026.

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