shock
B1Common across formal and informal registers.
Definition
Meaning
A sudden, intense, and often unpleasant feeling of surprise, alarm, or dismay; a violent or jarring impact.
Can refer to the medical condition of circulatory collapse (e.g., traumatic shock), an electrical discharge (electric shock), or a major disturbance to a system or belief.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily denotes suddenness and intensity. Can be literal (physical impact) or figurative (emotional impact). The adjective 'shocked' is more common for the emotional state than the noun in many contexts.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No major differences in core meaning or usage. Minor spelling preference: 'shock absorber' (both), 'shock therapy' (both).
Connotations
Largely identical connotations of suddenness and intensity.
Frequency
Equally frequent in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
to be a shock to someoneto come as a shockto get a shockto suffer from shockto send shock waves throughVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Shock and awe”
- “A bolt from the blue”
- “To give someone a nasty shock”
- “Future shock”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Referring to market shocks, economic shocks, or shocking quarterly results.
Academic
Used in psychology (emotional shock), medicine (hypovolemic shock), physics/engineering (electric shock, shock wave).
Everyday
Expressing surprise at news, receiving an electric shock, or describing a cultural adjustment.
Technical
In engineering: shock load, shock absorber. In medicine: septic shock, anaphylactic shock.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The violent images shocked the public.
- He was deeply shocked to learn the truth.
- Don't touch that wire, it could shock you.
American English
- The scandal shocked the nation.
- We were all shocked by the sudden layoffs.
- The static electricity shocked my finger.
adverb
British English
- His face turned shock white.
- Prices rose shockingly fast.
American English
- She was shockingly blunt in her assessment.
- The room was shockingly cold.
adjective
British English
- The shock news dominated the headlines.
- He suffered a shock defeat in the election.
American English
- The shock announcement came after the markets closed.
- It was a shock victory for the underdog team.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The loud noise gave me a shock.
- She got a small electric shock from the plug.
- It was a shock to see snow in April.
- The exam results came as a complete shock to him.
- He is still in shock after the accident.
- Moving to a new country can cause culture shock.
- The government's policy U-turn sent shock waves through the industry.
- Investors recoiled in shock at the company's plummeting profits.
- She was treated for shock at the scene of the collision.
- The seismic political event delivered an exogenous shock to the financial markets.
- His controversial thesis sought to shock the academic establishment out of its complacency.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a **shock** of bright pink hair – it's sudden, intense, and surprising, just like the feeling.
Conceptual Metaphor
EMOTIONAL IMPACT IS PHYSICAL IMPACT (e.g., 'The news hit me like a ton of bricks', 'I was shaken by the announcement').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid confusing with 'шок' only for medical/electric shock. For emotional surprise, Russian might use 'потрясение', 'испуг', or 'сюрприз' depending on context.
- The adjective 'shocking' ('шокирующий') often implies moral outrage, not just surprise.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'shock' as a verb without an object incorrectly (e.g., 'I shocked' instead of 'I was shocked' or 'It shocked me').
- Overusing 'shock' for minor surprises.
Practice
Quiz
In a medical context, 'shock' primarily refers to:
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
'Surprise' is neutral and can be positive or negative. 'Shock' implies a much stronger, more intense, and usually negative reaction, often with an element of being disturbed or horrified.
Rarely in its core sense. Phrases like 'pleasant shock' or 'shock win' use contrast for effect; the 'shock' element itself is the unexpectedness, not the positivity.
It can be both. Countable: 'I had three shocks today.' (specific instances). Uncountable: 'She was suffering from shock.' (the general medical/emotional state).
It derives from the French 'choc' (a violent impact) and 'choquer' (to strike with violence), likely of Germanic origin. It entered English in the mid-16th century.
Collections
Part of a collection
Emotions and Feelings
A2 · 33 words · Words to describe how you feel.