shocking

/ˈʃɒkɪŋ/

//ˈʃɒkɪŋ// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"shocking" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shocking” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,099. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,099
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Inspiring shock; startling.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shocking · shocking · English

shocking · rank #6,099 · 13 variants · 16 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,099
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shark

Nearest frequency peer: shark (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “shocking”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “shocking” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

shocking vs showing
75% similar
shocking vs smoking
75% similar
shocking vs sucking
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for shocking
PropertyValue
Headwordshocking
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈʃɒkɪŋ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#6,099
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “shocking”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).shockinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “shark” (#6,098), “southwest” (#6,100), “severely” (#6,097). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shocking” is #6,099. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around shocking (IPA /ˈʃɒkɪŋ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #6,099 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for shocking, with forms such as "hsocking", "shcoking", and "shhocking". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "showing", "smoking", "sucking", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From shock + -ing. The correct English form is shocking, spelled S-H-O-C-K-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Inspiring shock; startling.
  2. 2
    Unusually obscene or lewd.
  3. 3
    Extremely bad.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how shocking appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. What a shocking calamity!

Etymology

From shock + -ing.

This word in other languages

espantoso(Español)choquant(Français)schrecklich(Deutsch)chocante(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsocking
  • shcoking
  • shhocking
  • shoccking
  • shocikng
  • shockign
  • shockingg
  • shockinng
  • shockking
  • shocknig
  • shokcing
  • sohcking
  • sshocking

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of shocking - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hsocking2shcoking2shhocking1shoccking1shocikng2shockign2shockingg1shockinng1
Edit distance from "shocking"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shocking"?
"shocking" is spelled S-H-O-C-K-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃɒkɪŋ/.
What does "shocking" mean?
As an adjective, "shocking" means: Inspiring shock; startling.
What words are commonly confused with "shocking"?
"shocking" is commonly confused with "showing", "smoking", "sucking". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shocking"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shocking" is /ˈʃɒkɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "shocking"?
From shock + -ing. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "shocking", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

severely#6,097senators#6,096resolved#6,092provider#6,087

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

unlimited13 variantsmatching13 variantsgenuinely13 variantsdonations13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list