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Definition of "shocking" []

  • Highly disturbing emotionally. (adjective)
  • Highly offensive; indecent or distasteful. (adjective)
  • Very vivid or intense in tone: shocking pink. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "shocking" in a sentence
  • "It proposed a new national strategy to tackle what it called a "shocking state of affairs"."
  • "It's a break from what he describes as the shocking news that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian and Muslim, stands accused of plotting to blow up an airliner."
  • "VIEW FAVORITES yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = 'U.N. and Red Cross Add to Outcry on Gaza War'; yahooBuzzArticleSummary = 'The International Committee of the Red Cross reported finding what it called shocking scenes on Wednesday, including four emaciated children next to the bodies of their dead mothers."