/ English Dictionary

SHOCK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Example:

electricians get accustomed to occasional shocks

Synonyms:

electric shock; electrical shock; shock

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

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 2

Meaning:

The violent interaction of individuals or groups entering into combat

Example:

the armies met in the shock of battle

Synonyms:

impact; shock

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

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 mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses

Example:

the old car needed a new set of shocks

Synonyms:

cushion; shock; shock absorber

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An unpleasant or disappointing surprise

Example:

it came as a shock to learn that he was injured

Synonyms:

blow; shock

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

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 5

Meaning:

A sudden jarring impact

Example:

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

Synonyms:

jar; jolt; jounce; shock

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

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

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

Sense 6

Meaning:

An instance of agitation of the earth's crust

Example:

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

Synonyms:

seismic disturbance; shock

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

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 7

Meaning:

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

Example:

he was numb with shock

Synonyms:

daze; shock; stupor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

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 8

Meaning:

A bushy thick mass (especially hair)

Example:

he had an unruly shock of black hair

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

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

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

Sense 9

Meaning:

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

Example:

whole fields of wheat in shock

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

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 10

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

Example:

loss of blood is an important cause of shock

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

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)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Inflict a trauma upon

Synonyms:

shock; traumatise; traumatize

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

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)

Sense 2

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 3

Meaning:

Collect or gather into shocks

Example:

shock grain

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

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 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:

Strike with horror or terror

Example:

The news of the bombing shocked her

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

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 6

Meaning:

Surprise greatly; knock someone's socks off

Example:

I was floored when I heard that I was promoted

Synonyms:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

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 7

Meaning:

Strike with disgust or revulsion

Example:

The scandalous behavior of this married woman shocked her friends

Synonyms:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

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)

Credits

 Context examples: 

This allele, which encodes BAG family molecular chaperone regulator 1 protein, is involved in the inhibition of both heat shock protein activity and apoptosis through the mediation of the apoptosis regulator Bcl-2 protein.

(BAG1 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

How shocked had he been by her behaviour to Miss Bates!

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

It should be unnecessary to state, at least to my friends, that I was shocked.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

It manifests with dyspnea and cyanosis and may lead to cardiovascular shock.

(Acute Respiratory Failure, NCI Thesaurus)

Fanny seemed to herself never to have been shocked before.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

I discerned he was now neither angry nor shocked at my audacity.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Suddenly he was shocked back to himself.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

For a moment I was shocked at the thought that some sudden danger might have befallen them.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There was a bottle of wine on the sideboard, and I opened it and poured a little between Mary’s lips, for she was half dead with shock.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Conversely, you may hear of someone else’s secret and be shocked when you find out what it is about.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

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