SHOCK

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does shock mean? 

• SHOCK (noun)
  The noun SHOCK has 10 senses:

1. the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally

2. the violent interaction of individuals or groups entering into combat

3. a reflex response to the passage of electric current through the body

4. (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

5. an instance of agitation of the earth's crust

6. an unpleasant or disappointing surprise

7. a pile of sheaves of grain set on end in a field to dry; stalks of Indian corn set up in a field

8. a bushy thick mass (especially hair)

9. a sudden jarring impact

10. a mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses

  Familiarity information: SHOCK used as a noun is familiar.

• SHOCK (verb)
  The verb SHOCK has 7 senses:

1. surprise greatly; knock someone's socks off

2. strike with disgust or revulsion

3. strike with horror or terror

4. collide violently

5. collect or gather into shocks

6. subject to electrical shocks

7. inflict a trauma upon

  Familiarity information: SHOCK used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SHOCK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

daze; shock; stupor

Context example:

he was numb with shock

Hypernyms ("shock" is a kind of...):

stupefaction (a feeling of stupefied astonishment)

Derivation:

shock (inflict a trauma upon)

shock (strike with horror or terror)

shock (strike with disgust or revulsion)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The violent interaction of individuals or groups entering into combat

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

impact; shock

Context example:

the armies met in the shock of battle

Hypernyms ("shock" is a kind of...):

combat; fight; fighting; scrap (the act of fighting; any contest or struggle)

Derivation:

shock (collide violently)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A reflex response to the passage of electric current through the body

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

electric shock; electrical shock; shock

Context example:

electricians get accustomed to occasional shocks

Hypernyms ("shock" is a kind of...):

inborn reflex; innate reflex; instinctive reflex; physiological reaction; reflex; reflex action; reflex response; unconditioned reflex (an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus)

Derivation:

shock (subject to electrical shocks)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

loss of blood is an important cause of shock

Hypernyms ("shock" is a kind of...):

collapse; prostration (an abrupt failure of function or complete physical exhaustion)

Domain category:

pathology (the branch of medical science that studies the causes and nature and effects of diseases)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shock"):

cardiogenic shock (shock caused by cardiac arrest)

hypovolemic shock (shock caused by severe blood or fluid loss)

obstructive shock (shock caused by obstruction of blood flow)

distributive shock (shock caused by poor distribution of the blood flow)

insulin reaction; insulin shock (hypoglycemia produced by excessive insulin in the system causing coma)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An instance of agitation of the earth's crust

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

seismic disturbance; shock

Context example:

the first shock of the earthquake came shortly after noon while workers were at lunch

Hypernyms ("shock" is a kind of...):

earthquake; quake; seism; temblor (shaking and vibration at the surface of the earth resulting from underground movement along a fault plane or from volcanic activity)

Sense 6

Meaning:

An unpleasant or disappointing surprise

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

blow; shock

Context example:

it came as a shock to learn that he was injured

Hypernyms ("shock" is a kind of...):

surprise (a sudden unexpected event)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shock"):

blip (a sudden minor shock or meaningless interruption)

Derivation:

shock (inflict a trauma upon)

shock (strike with horror or terror)

shock (surprise greatly; knock someone's socks off)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A pile of sheaves of grain set on end in a field to dry; stalks of Indian corn set up in a field

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Context example:

whole fields of wheat in shock

Hypernyms ("shock" is a kind of...):

agglomerate; cumulation; cumulus; heap; mound; pile (a collection of objects laid on top of each other)

Derivation:

shock (collect or gather into shocks)

Sense 8

Meaning:

A bushy thick mass (especially hair)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Context example:

he had an unruly shock of black hair

Hypernyms ("shock" is a kind of...):

mass (an ill-structured collection of similar things (objects or people))

Sense 9

Meaning:

A sudden jarring impact

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

jar; jolt; jounce; shock

Context example:

all the jars and jolts were smoothed out by the shock absorbers

Hypernyms ("shock" is a kind of...):

blow; bump (an impact (as from a collision))

Sense 10

Meaning:

A mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

cushion; shock; shock absorber

Context example:

the old car needed a new set of shocks

Hypernyms ("shock" is a kind of...):

damper; muffler (a device that decreases the amplitude of electronic, mechanical, acoustical, or aerodynamic oscillations)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shock"):

air cushion; air spring (a mechanical device using confined air to absorb the shock of motion)

Holonyms ("shock" is a part of...):

suspension; suspension system (a mechanical system of springs or shock absorbers connecting the wheels and axles to the chassis of a wheeled vehicle)

• SHOCK (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Surprise greatly; knock someone's socks off

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

ball over; blow out of the water; floor; shock; take aback

Context example:

I was floored when I heard that I was promoted

Hypernyms (to "shock" is one way to...):

surprise (cause to be surprised)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "shock"):

galvanise; galvanize; startle (to stimulate to action)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

The bad news will shock him
The good news will shock her

Derivation:

shock (an unpleasant or disappointing surprise)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Strike with disgust or revulsion

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

appal; appall; offend; outrage; scandalise; scandalize; shock

Context example:

The scandalous behavior of this married woman shocked her friends

Hypernyms (to "shock" is one way to...):

churn up; disgust; nauseate; revolt; sicken (cause aversion in; offend the moral sense of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to shock Sue

Derivation:

shock (the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally)

shocker (a shockingly bad person)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Strike with horror or terror

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Context example:

The news of the bombing shocked her

Hypernyms (to "shock" is one way to...):

alarm; appal; appall; dismay; horrify (fill with apprehension or alarm; cause to be unpleasantly surprised)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

The bad news will shock him
The performance is likely to shock Sue

Derivation:

shock (an unpleasant or disappointing surprise)

shock (the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally)

shocker (a sensational message (in a film or play or novel))

Sense 4

Meaning:

Collide violently

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "shock" is one way to...):

clash; collide (crash together with violent impact)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

shock (the violent interaction of individuals or groups entering into combat)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Collect or gather into shocks

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

shock grain

Hypernyms (to "shock" is one way to...):

collect; garner; gather; pull together (assemble or get together)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

shock (a pile of sheaves of grain set on end in a field to dry; stalks of Indian corn set up in a field)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Subject to electrical shocks

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "shock" is one way to...):

care for; treat (provide treatment for)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "shock"):

galvanise; galvanize (stimulate (muscles) by administering a shock)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

shock (a reflex response to the passage of electric current through the body)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Inflict a trauma upon

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

shock; traumatise; traumatize

Hypernyms (to "shock" is one way to...):

injure; wound (cause injuries or bodily harm to)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

shock (the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally)

shock (an unpleasant or disappointing surprise)

 Context examples 

Shocking as was the idea, it was at least better than a death unfairly hastened, as, in the natural course of things, she must ere long be released.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

He paused at the mouth of the cave with a sudden shock of suspicion.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

I was very much shocked to hear of this melancholy accident, and said I thought I had better have some water.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

But that was only the effect of the suddenness of your alarm—of the shock.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Both an initial re-exposure to the shock and the subsequent timing of extinction training proved critical.

(How Our Memory Works, NIH, US)

Therefore the shock she received can better be imagined than described, when he said in a perfectly tranquil tone, "Do you care to dance?"

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Before he had recovered from the shock caused by the tragic passing of Curly, he received another shock.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

These were distinct nervous shocks, and their effect was not good on her.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

A recombinant cancer vaccine made with tumor-derived heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) peptide complexes.

(Autologous Heat-Shock Protein 70 Peptide Vaccine AG-858, NCI Thesaurus)

Ansamycin antibiotics bind to and inhibit the cytosolic chaperone functions of heat shock protein 90 (HSP90).

(Ansamycin Antineoplastic Antibiotic, NCI Thesaurus)