Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Suffering from shell shock.
  • adjective Stunned, distressed, or exhausted from a prolonged trauma or an unexpected difficulty.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective dated Stunned or mentally unbalanced by prolonged stress such as experienced in combat or under fire (shell-fire); suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
  • adjective figuratively Confused as a result of a traumatic experience.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word shell-shocked.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.