/ ʃɒk; NAmE ʃɑːk/ noun , verb
■ noun
SURPRISE
1.
[ C , usually sing. , U ] a strong feeling of surprise as a result of sth happening, especially sth unpleasant; the event that causes this feeling :
The news of my promotion came as a shock .
He's still in a state of shock .
I got a terrible shock the other day.
She still hadn't got over the shock of seeing him again.
( informal )
If you think the job will be easy, you're in for a shock .
Losing in the first round was a shock to the system (= it was a more of a shock because it was not expected) .
The team suffered a shock defeat in the first round.
—see also culture shock
MEDICAL
2.
[ U ] a serious medical condition, usually the result of injury in which a person has lost a lot of blood and they are extremely weak :
She was taken to hospital suffering from shock .
He isn't seriously injured but he is in (a state of) shock .
—see also shell shock , toxic shock syndrome
VIOLENT SHAKING
3.
[ C , U ] a violent shaking movement that is caused by an explosion, earthquake , etc. :
The shock of the explosion could be felt up to six miles away.
The bumper absorbs shock on impact.
FROM ELECTRICITY
4.
[ C ] = electric shock :
Don't touch that wire or you'll get a shock .
OF HAIR
5.
a thick mass of hair on a person's head
•
IDIOMS
- shock horror
■ verb
SURPRISE AND UPSET
1.
to surprise and upset sb :
[ vn ]
It shocks you when something like that happens.
We were all shocked at the news of his death.
[ vn that ]
Neighbours were shocked that such an attack could happen in their area.
[ vn to inf ]
I was shocked to hear that he had resigned.
OFFEND / DISGUST
2.
( of bad language, immoral behaviour, etc. ) to make sb feel offended or disgusted :
[ v ]
These movies deliberately set out to shock.
[ vn ]
She enjoys shocking people by saying outrageous things.
[also vn to inf ]
► shocked adjective :
For a few minutes we stood in shocked silence .
••
SYNONYMS
shock
appal ♦ horrify ♦ disgust ♦ sicken ♦ repel ♦ revolt
These words all mean to surprise and upset sb very much.
shock
[often passive] to surprise sb, usually in a way that upsets them:
We were all shocked at the news of his death.
appal
to shock and upset sb very much:
The brutality of the crime has appalled the public.
horrify
to make sb feel extremely shocked, upset or frightened:
The whole country was horrified by the killings.
disgust
to make sb feel shocked and almost ill because sth is so unpleasant:
The level of violence in the movie really disgusted me.
sicken
( BrE ) to make sb feel very shocked, angry and almost ill because sth is so unpleasant:
The public is becoming sickened by these images of violence and death.
repel
[often passive] ( rather formal ) to make sb feel rather disgusted:
I was repelled by the smell of drink on his breath.
revolt
to make sb feel disgusted:
All the violence in the movie revolted me.
disgust, repel or revolt?
Disgust and revolt are stronger than repel , especially when the reason is moral, not physical. You might be repelled by sb's opinions or personal qualities, but if these opinions or qualities lead to action, repel may not be strong enough: Violence repels me.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
shocked / appalled / horrified / disgusted / sickened / repelled / revolted by sb/sth
shocked / appalled / horrified / disgusted at sb/sth
to shock / appal / horrify / disgust sb that...
to shock / appal / horrify / disgust / sicken sb to think / see / hear...
to be / feel shocked / appalled / horrified / disgusted / sickened / repelled / revolted
sb's behaviour shocks / appals / horrifies / disgusts sb
a scandal shocks sb
a smell disgusts / sickens / repels / revolts sb
really shocked / appalled / horrified / disgusted / sickened / repelled / revolted
deeply shocked / appalled / horrified / disgusted
••
WORD ORIGIN
noun senses 1 to 4 and verb 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 .
noun sense 5 mid 17th cent.: origin uncertain; compare with obsolete shough , denoting a breed of lapdog. The word originally denoted a dog with long shaggy hair, and was then used as an adjective meaning unkempt, shaggy . The current sense dates from the early 19th cent.