: extremely startling, distressing, or offensive
shocking news
Examples of shocking in a Sentence
The number of young teenagers who smoke is shocking.
a shocking waste of money
The building is in a shocking state.
Recent Examples on the Web
The opening day of NFL free agency began with some shocking moves and key additions.
—
Paulina Dedaj, Fox News, 11 Mar. 2025
Best Player Prop Bets Delaware's John Camden has been the hero of this shocking run, with 13 made threes in his team's four CAA Tournament wins.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
The implications of three shocking pieces of news have hardly registered—yet.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
It’s been a shocking decline for the stock, which went public in late January and has already lost around two-thirds of its value.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shocking
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.
Paulina Dedaj, Fox News, 11 Mar. 2025
Best Player Prop Bets Delaware's John Camden has been the hero of this shocking run, with 13 made threes in his team's four CAA Tournament wins.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
The implications of three shocking pieces of news have hardly registered—yet.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
It’s been a shocking decline for the stock, which went public in late January and has already lost around two-thirds of its value.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shocking
Cite this Entry
“Shocking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shocking. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shocking
adjective
shock·ing
: causing horror or disgust
a shocking crime
shocking behavior
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share