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Definition of shock verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

shock

verb
 
 
/ʃɒk/
 
/ʃɑːk/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they shock
 
/ʃɒk/
 
/ʃɑːk/
he / she / it shocks
 
/ʃɒks/
 
/ʃɑːks/
past simple shocked
 
/ʃɒkt/
 
/ʃɑːkt/
past participle shocked
 
/ʃɒkt/
 
/ʃɑːkt/
-ing form shocking
 
/ˈʃɒkɪŋ/
 
/ˈʃɑːkɪŋ/
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    surprise and upset

  1.  
     [transitive] to surprise and upset somebody
    • shock somebody President Kennedy's assassination in Dallas on November 22, 1963, shocked the world.
    • The news had shocked her deeply.
    • It shocks you when something like that happens.
    • His death shocked the community.
    • shock somebody that… It shocked her that he would do such a thing.
    • shock somebody to do something It shocked me to think that some people would be prepared to commit acts like these.
    Synonyms shockshockappal ▪ horrify ▪ disgust ▪ sicken ▪ repelThese words all mean to surprise and upset somebody very much.shock [often passive] to surprise somebody, usually in a way that upsets them:
    • We were all shocked at the news of his death.
    appal to shock and upset somebody very much:
    • The brutality of the crime has appalled the public.
    horrify to make somebody feel extremely shocked, upset or frightened:
    • The whole country was horrified by the killings.
    disgust to make somebody feel shocked and almost ill because something is so unpleasant:
    • The level of violence in the movie really disgusted me.
    sicken (British English) to make somebody feel very shocked, angry and almost ill because something is so unpleasant:
    • The public is becoming sickened by these images of violence and death.
    repel [often passive] (rather formal) to make somebody feel horror or disgust:
    • I was repelled by the smell of drink on his breath.
    Patterns
    • shocked/​appalled/​horrified/​disgusted at somebody/​something
    • to shock/​appal/​horrify/​disgust somebody that…
    • to shock/​appal/​horrify/​disgust/​sicken somebody to think/​see/​hear…
    • somebody’s behaviour shocks/​appals somebody
    • violence/​an idea shocks/​appals/​horrifies/​disgusts somebody
    Topics Feelingsb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • deeply
    • really
    • easily
    • …
    preposition
    • into
    See full entry
    2.

    offend/disgust

  2.  
     [intransitive, transitive] (of bad language, immoral behaviour, etc.) to make somebody feel offended or full of horror
    • These movies deliberately set out to shock.
    • shock somebody She enjoys shocking people by saying outrageous things.
    • He had old-fashioned ideas and was easily shocked.
    • Do you think its possible to shock an audience anymore?
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • deeply
    • really
    • easily
    • …
    preposition
    • into
    See full entry
    3. Word Originverb mid 16th cent.: from French choc (noun), choquer (verb), of unknown origin. The original senses were ‘throw (troops) into confusion by charging at them’ and ‘an encounter between charging forces’, giving rise to the notion of ‘sudden violent blow or impact’.
See shock in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee shock in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: shock

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