electroshock

noun

elec·​tro·​shock i-ˈlek-trō-ˌshäk 

1

: shock entry 1 sense 3

2

: electroshock therapy

Examples of electroshock in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Troubled by the changes in their niece, Aunt Em (Piper Laurie) and Uncle Henry (Matt Clark) bring her to a psychiatric hospital where, on the verge of being subjected to a primitive form of electroshock treatment, she’s whisked away to Oz again. —Keith Phipps, Vulture, 25 Nov. 2024

By the late 1920s, police everywhere in the country used third-degree tactics such as brutal beatings, electroshock, and waterboarding to secure confessions. —Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 2 Nov. 2024

Milioti deliciously and strategically navigates Sofia’s descent into the mad state of someone forced to endure the harsh living conditions of Arkham, the intense electroshock treatments, and the even more unforgivable sin of gaslighting. —Nick Romano, EW.com, 14 Oct. 2024

When the twins were four, her family arranged for her to be treated at St. Andrew’s Hospital, the exclusive facility where her mother had undergone electroshock. —Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 29 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing electroshock

• electroshock therapy

Medical Definition

electroshock

noun

elec·​tro·​shock -trō-ˌshäk 

1

: shock sense 3

2

: electroconvulsive therapy