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shock

noun · adjective · verb

Simple meaning

A sudden jarring impact.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

shahk
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈʃɑk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A sudden jarring impact

  2. A sudden, heavy impact.

  3. psychology

    A sudden or violent mental or emotional disturbance.

  4. figuratively

    Something so surprising that it is stunning.

  5. An arrangement of sheaves for drying; a stook.

  6. by extension

    A tuft or bunch of something, such as hair or grass.

adjective

  1. Causing intense surprise, horror, etc.; unexpected and shocking.

verb

  1. transitive

    To cause to be emotionally shocked; to cause (someone) to feel surprised and upset.

  2. transitive

    To give an electric shock to.

  3. transitive

    To subject to a shock wave or violent impact.

  4. transitive

    To collect, or make up, into a shock or shocks; to stook.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Word Aura is being prepared for this meaning.

More ways to use shock

  • “It came as a shock to learn that he was injured.”noun
  • “Subjects received a small electric shock when they made the wrong response.”noun
  • “The armies met in the shock of battle.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Sudden / distress

septic shock

Electric

heat shock

Shock

shock absorbers

Other combinations

shock waveculture shockshock therapythermal shockanaphylactic shock

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • shockernounInflected form

    A shockingly bad person.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • shock troopsnounCompound term

    Soldiers who are specially trained and armed to lead an assault.

  • shock wavenounCompound term

    A region of high pressure travelling through a gas at a high velocity.

  • shock treatmentnounCompound term

    Treatment of certain psychotic states by the administration of shocks that are followed by convulsions.

  • shock therapynounCompound term

    Treatment of certain psychotic states by the administration of shocks that are followed by convulsions.

  • shock absorbernounCompound term

    A mechanical damper.

  • electrical shocknounCompound term

    A reflex response to the passage of electric current through the body.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.