Definition of Shock

1. Noun. The feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally. "He was numb with shock"

Exact synonyms: Daze, Stupor
Generic synonyms: Stupefaction
Derivative terms: Daze

2. Verb. Surprise greatly; knock someone's socks off. "The performance is likely to shock Sue"; "I was floored when I heard that I was promoted"
Exact synonyms: Ball Over, Blow Out Of The Water, Floor, Take Aback
Generic synonyms: Surprise
Specialized synonyms: Galvanise, Galvanize, Startle

3. Noun. The violent interaction of individuals or groups entering into combat. "The armies met in the shock of battle"
Exact synonyms: Impact
Generic synonyms: Combat, Fight, Fighting, Scrap

4. Verb. Strike with disgust or revulsion. "The performance is likely to shock Sue"; "The scandalous behavior of this married woman shocked her friends"

5. Noun. A reflex response to the passage of electric current through the body. "Electricians get accustomed to occasional shocks"

6. Verb. Strike with horror or terror. "The performance is likely to shock Sue"; "The news of the bombing shocked her"
Generic synonyms: Alarm, Appal, Appall, Dismay, Horrify
Derivative terms: Shocker

7. Noun. (pathology) bodily collapse or near collapse caused by inadequate oxygen delivery to the cells; characterized by reduced cardiac output and rapid heartbeat and circulatory insufficiency and pallor. "Loss of blood is an important cause of shock"

8. Verb. Collide violently.
Generic synonyms: Clash, Collide

9. Noun. An instance of agitation of the earth's crust. "The first shock of the earthquake came shortly after noon while workers were at lunch"
Exact synonyms: Seismic Disturbance
Generic synonyms: Earthquake, Quake, Seism, Temblor

10. Verb. Collect or gather into shocks. "Shock grain"
Generic synonyms: Collect, Garner, Gather, Pull Together

11. Noun. An unpleasant or disappointing surprise. "It came as a shock to learn that he was injured"
Exact synonyms: Blow
Generic synonyms: Surprise
Specialized synonyms: Blip

12. Verb. Subject to electrical shocks.
Generic synonyms: Care For, Treat
Specialized synonyms: Galvanise, Galvanize

13. Noun. A pile of sheaves of grain set on end in a field to dry; stalks of Indian corn set up in a field. "Whole fields of wheat in shock"
Generic synonyms: Agglomerate, Cumulation, Cumulus, Heap, Mound, Pile

14. Verb. Inflict a trauma upon.
Exact synonyms: Traumatise, Traumatize
Generic synonyms: Injure, Wound
Derivative terms: Trauma, Trauma, Trauma

15. Noun. A bushy thick mass (especially hair). "He had an unruly shock of black hair"
Generic synonyms: Mass

16. Noun. A sudden jarring impact. "All the jars and jolts were smoothed out by the shock absorbers"
Exact synonyms: Jar, Jolt, Jounce
Generic synonyms: Blow, Bump
Derivative terms: Jar, Jolt

17. Noun. A mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses. "The old car needed a new set of shocks"
Exact synonyms: Cushion, Shock Absorber
Specialized synonyms: Air Cushion, Air Spring
Generic synonyms: Damper, Muffler
Group relationships: Suspension, Suspension System
Derivative terms: Cushion

Definition of Shock


2. v. t. To collect, or make up, into a shock or shocks; to stook; as, to shock rye.

3. v. i. To be occupied with making shocks.


5. v. t. To give a shock to; to cause to shake or waver; hence, to strike against suddenly; to encounter with violence.

6. v. i. To meet with a shock; to meet in violent encounter.

7. n. A dog with long hair or shag; -- called also shockdog.

8. a. Bushy; shaggy; as, a shock hair.

9. v. t. To subject to the action of an electrical discharge so as to cause a more or less violent depression or commotion of the nervous system.

Definition of Shock

1. Noun. Sudden, heavy impact. ¹

2. Noun. An arrangement of sheaves for drying, a stook. ¹

3. Verb. To cause to be emotionally shocked. ¹

4. Verb. To give an electric shock. ¹

¹ Source:

Definition of Shock

1. to strike with great surprise, horror, or disgust [v -ED, -ING, -S]

Medical Definition of Shock

1. 1. A sudden disturbance of mental equilibrium. 2. A condition of profound haemodynamic and metabolic disturbance characterised by failure of the circulatory system to maintain adequate perfusion of vital organs, it may result from inadequate blood volume (hypovolaemic shock), inadequate cardiac function (cardiogenic shock) or inadequate vasomotor tone (neurogenic shock, septic shock). This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology (11 Mar 2008)

Shock Pictures


Lexicographical Neighbors of Shock

shoaling wave
shoaling waves
shock (current term)
shock absorber
shock absorbers
shock antigen
shock diamond
shock index
shock jock
shock lung
shock mount
shock rock
shock sites
shock therapies
shock therapy

Literary usage of Shock


1. Proceedings by Philadelphia County Medical Society (1901)
"If this deduction ia true, it means that there is within grasp the means of absolutely preventing shock, and that there should be the possibility of cutting ..."

2. The Harvey Lectures by Harvey Society of New York, New York Academy of Medicine (1920)
"These hypotheses give as the cause of shock (1) the exhaustion of the ... The hypothesis that shock is caused by exhaustion of the vasomotor centre, ..."

3. An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language by Walter William Skeat (1893)
"A shock generally means 11 sheaves ; but G. schock, Dan. skok, Swed. ¡,kock mean threescore or ... shock-headed is rough-headed, with shaggy or rough hair. ..."

4. The Medical Implications of Nuclear War by Fredric Solomon, Robert Q. Marston (1986)
"ness, and the shock wave has broken away from it, already reaching a range of ... When the primary shock wave from the explosion reaches the ground (see ..."

"September 21, 1889) recommends the following methods of treatment in surgical shock, which he believes to be due to a more or less marked general paralysis ..."

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