gobsmacked
/ˈɡɒb.smækt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.53 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "That wad mack im about yam sick, so ower Ilkla' moor bar-tat wish un best of luck at Ilkley Station, and when he landed back Martha wad be fare gob smacked at the yarns he wad tell 'er about Yorkshire clod-hoppers."
- "We were as appalled and stunned and confused and gobsmacked (punched on the mouth) as anyone else."
- ""I guess the word would be gobsmacked," Barclay said, of his reaction. "I am stunned.""
- "Peterik told CNN that the use of the song caught him by surprise. “I was gobsmacked,” he said. “We were not asked about this at all. The first time we saw it was on national TV.”"
- "Far from the stage, a woman approached them and said she could tell they were big fans, so she was upgrading them to the front row. “We were absolutely gobsmacked,” Ryan said."
- "A hospital consultant who treated Sergei and Yulia Skripal after they were poisoned with the nerve agent novichok was “gobsmacked” when Yulia woke and began trying to get out of bed four days after the attack."
Etymology
As if smacked (“hit”) in the gob (“mouth (Irish / Scottish gaelic)”). Attested since 1959, from Northern English dialect, particularly Liverpool, popularized via television.
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /ˈɡɒb.smækt/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more gobsmacked (comparative)
most gobsmacked (superlative)