shocked

adjective

ˈshäkt 

1

a

: affected by shock : stricken with sudden mental or emotional disturbance

"Oh, no!" Mrs. Quimby was shocked. "How much is that going to cost?"

—Beverly Cleary

… I am so shocked to see him that I do not know what to do.

—Jane Austen

b

: showing or expressing shock

Her voice faltered as she saw the shocked amazement on her father's face.

—Mary Norton

In place of a roar at the end of the year's most anticipated race, there was only a shocked silence.

—Tim Layden

2

of a mineral : having a crystal structure that has been deformed by exposure to sudden extremely high pressure (as from a meteorite impact or a nuclear blast)

Grains of shocked quartz have long been used as criteria for impact (extraterrestrial objects or nuclear bombs) …

—Stephen Jay Gould

Synonyms

• amazed
• astonished
• astounded
• awestruck
• awestricken
• bowled over
• dumbfounded
• dumfounded
• dumbstruck
• flabbergasted
• stunned
• stupefied
• thunderstruck

Examples of shocked in a Sentence

the escaping bridegroom bid farewell to the shocked wedding guests as he ran out the door

we were shocked at the appalling conditions in the prison

the hikers were so shocked at the sight of a bear that they didn't dare move

Recent Examples on the Web

Steffens — who looked shocked — said while smiling widely. —Toria Sheffield, People.com, 9 Dec. 2024

Binoche is the more unabashedly open of the two; at times, Fiennes seems shocked and sweetly shy in response to her candor. —Rachel Handler, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024

A day later, on the New York side, an OnlyFans model named Ava Louise (famous for licking an airplane toilet seat at the onset of COVID-19) flashed her considerable breasts to shocked Dubliners. —The Editors, Curbed, 2 Dec. 2024

This time Democratic voters, particularly women, were just as disappointed but less shocked, says Lisa Mueller, a political science professor at Macalester College. —Sareen Habeshian, Axios, 24 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1675, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing shocked

• shell-shocked
• shocked and dismayed