Shocking
Shocking adjective - Causing a strong emotional reaction because of unexpectedness.
Usage example: we all clustered around to hear the shocking news of our colleague's sudden death
Unexpected and shocking are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Unexpected" instead an adjective "Shocking".
Unexpected
Unexpected adjective - Not expected.
Shocking and unexpected are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Shocking" instead an adjective "Unexpected".
Nearby Words: unexpectedly, unexpectedness
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
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The Reveal: Three, and they're all equally as unexpected and shocking as each other.
Source: Film / A Tale of Two Sisters - In Psycho, the death of Marion Crane was nearly as shocking and unexpected as the Twist Ending.
Source: Anyone Can Die / Film -
They get another one later in the film to coach Josh into appearing to be an unreliable witness Anyone Can Die: Baz is killed off suddenly and unexpectedly, and by the end of the film Craig, Pope and in the most unexpected case, Nicky, have all been killed in shocking and unexpected manners.
Source: Film / Animal Kingdom
Cite this Source
Unexpected and Shocking. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/shocking/unexpected
Shocking & Unexpected. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/shocking/unexpected>.
Unexpected or Shocking. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/shocking/unexpected.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "shocking" and "unexpected" have occurred on timeline