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shell shock

noun

battle fatigue.

Origin of shell shock

First recorded in 1915–20

OTHER WORDS FROM shell shock

shell-shocked, shell·shocked, adjective

Words nearby shell shock

shell gland, shell jacket, shell out, shell pink, shell program, shell shock, shell star, shell steak, shell suit, shell-like, shell-shocked

Example sentences from the Web for shell-shocked

“God, please cure the regime,” says a shell-shocked Syrian woman.

'E-Team': James Foley's Last Film |Marlow Stern |August 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
When the towers fell, I was shell-shocked, struggling to find words.

New York Journalists Remember the First Moments of 9/11 |Abby Haglage |September 11, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
The story of my life: when I lose, people are shell-shocked to see me play this way.

Roger Federer’s U.S. Open Defeat Was Bad, but He’s Not Dead Yet |Sujay Kumar |September 3, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
The entire nation is mourning the news, shell-shocked by images of wailing children fleeing the schools single file.

What We Know So Far About Connecticut School Shooter Adam Lanza |Kevin Fallon |December 14, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

This is not the first election cycle in which Republicans have been shell-shocked by reality.

Republicans Allowed Karl Rove to Mislead Them Again |Matt Latimer |November 17, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
All about were soldiers; slightly wounded, gassed, shell-shocked, or just plain sick or exhausted.

With the Doughboy in France |Edward Hungerford
Horror has shell-shocked every one, civilians as well as fighting-men.

The Kingdom Round the Corner |Coningsby Dawson
She was now sending it to a hospital for shell-shocked officers.

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 156, April 23, 1919 |Various
I have never met anywhere in France such a happy, hopeful, cheerful crowd as that bunch of shell-shocked boys.

Soldier Silhouettes on our Front |William L. Stidger
I got shell-shocked the very same night I met that fellow, and that's got something to do with it, maybe.

Tom Slade at Black Lake |Percy Keese Fitzhugh

British Dictionary definitions for shell-shocked (1 of 2)

shell-shocked

adjective

suffering from shell shock

in a state of stunned confusion or shock; dazed

British Dictionary definitions for shell-shocked (2 of 2)

shell shock

noun

loss of sight, memory, etc, resulting from psychological strain during prolonged engagement in warfare Also called: combat neurosis

Medical definitions for shell-shocked

shell shock

n.

combat fatigue