: extremely startling, distressing, or offensive
shocking news
Synonyms
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
Most striking was how the backroom conversation, revealed by The Times in 2022, was utterly shocking to millions of people, but entirely predictable to millions of others.
—
Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The former soccer player and wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes revealed a shocking hair change on April 10 on Instagram.
—Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2024
Most shocking is the apparent cover up of disciplinary records before and after the shooting.
—Raja Razek, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
For the most part, these impressions were vague as to why the buyers screening was so shocking.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
That confession is shocking for a film made by Higher Ground, the production company that Barack and Michelle Obama formed as part of the 2018 Netflix deal that gave them a bully-pulpit sinecure.
—Armond White, National Review, 10 Apr. 2024
The statements, while made in reaction to a shocking court decision that will reverberate for months if not years, were dismissed by Democrats as GOP backpedaling.
—Stacey Barchenger, The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
Mister Cee played a role in helping elevate the careers of local artists such as 50 Cent, who showed Cee love following news of his shocking passing.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 10 Apr. 2024
The voracity with which Caputo achieved a fiscal surplus during the first full month of the administration was shocking.
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The former soccer player and wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes revealed a shocking hair change on April 10 on Instagram.
—Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2024
Most shocking is the apparent cover up of disciplinary records before and after the shooting.
—Raja Razek, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
For the most part, these impressions were vague as to why the buyers screening was so shocking.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
That confession is shocking for a film made by Higher Ground, the production company that Barack and Michelle Obama formed as part of the 2018 Netflix deal that gave them a bully-pulpit sinecure.
—Armond White, National Review, 10 Apr. 2024
The statements, while made in reaction to a shocking court decision that will reverberate for months if not years, were dismissed by Democrats as GOP backpedaling.
—Stacey Barchenger, The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
Mister Cee played a role in helping elevate the careers of local artists such as 50 Cent, who showed Cee love following news of his shocking passing.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 10 Apr. 2024
The voracity with which Caputo achieved a fiscal surplus during the first full month of the administration was shocking.
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shocking.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near shocking
Cite this Entry
“Shocking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shocking. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shocking
adjective
shock·ing
: causing horror or disgust
a shocking crime
shocking behavior
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