# shocking vs smacking

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### shocking
*adjective · IPA /ˈʃɒkɪŋ/ · frequency rank #6,099*
Inspiring shock; startling.

### smacking
*noun · frequency rank #28,371*
A series of smacks; the act by which somebody is smacked.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shocking-vs-smacking