electric shock

1. 1.

   the use of electricity to administer punishment or torture

   “they used cattle prods to administer electric shocks”

   Broadercorporal punishmenttorture
2. 2.

   trauma caused by the passage of electric current through the body (as from contact with high voltage lines or being struck by lightning); usually involves burns and abnormal heart rhythm and unconsciousness

   Broaderinjury
3. 3.

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

   “subjects received a small electric shock when they made the wrong response”

   “electricians get accustomed to occasional shocks”

   Synonymselectrical shockshock

   Broaderreflex

Questions about electric shock

What does electric shock mean?

electric shock means "the use of electricity to administer punishment or torture". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

What is another word for electric shock?

Close synonyms include electrical shock, shock. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is electric shock a common word?

electric shock is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.