Shocker

How to spell shocker

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce shocker

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does shocker mean?

1. nounSomething that is shocking, surprising, or disappointingly bad.

Shocker in a sentence

• The sudden resignation of the chief executive was a real shocker.

• Losing to the bottom team at home was an absolute shocker for the fans.

Where does shocker come from?

Language of origin: French

The base word 'shock' arrived in English in the mid 1500s from the French noun 'choc' and the verb 'choquer', which described two forces colliding or clashing together, as when armies or jousting riders crashed into each other. The deeper origin before French is uncertain, though many scholars suspect a Germanic source imitating the sound of impact, which is why confidence here is only moderate. Over the following centuries the sense softened from physical collision to the jolt of sudden emotion, and later to the electrical jolt we now also call a shock. The agent suffix '-er' was then added, much as in 'thriller' or 'stunner', to name something that delivers that jolt. 'Shocker' became common in the 1800s for a startling event, a sensational story, or a thoroughly bad result, and the spelling is refreshingly regular: just 'shock' with the familiar '-er' tacked on.

How the word is built

• shock (sudden violent impact or surprise)
• -er (noun suffix denoting a thing that produces an effect)