Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
noun
A psychiatric condition characterized by fatigue caused by battle, corresponding largely with the current diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: battle fatigue, combat fatigue
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A person with the condition.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: colloquial, countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A stunning shock.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, countable, figuratively, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see shell, shock.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To stun or debilitate as by a shock.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively, transitive
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
a mental disorder caused by stress of active warfare
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: battle fatigue, combat fatigue, combat neurosis
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: posttraumatic stress disorder, PTSD
History
Well attested during World War I. Attempts to find attestations that predate that war seem fruitless. The ambiguity of reference to a range of phenomena, from physical concussion due to the explosively loud noise of artillery fire (on both the sending and receiving ends) to psychological reactions to violence and maiming, was present in the term's use from the start. In 21st-century wars there is continued evidence that long, close exposure to the noise of artillery can cause traumatic brain injury even in soldiers who did not take incoming artillery fire. But most discussions of shell shock in World War I concerned combat stress as well.
Across languages
15 source translations are retained for this English entry.
