different between egregious vs shocking

English

Etymology

From Latin ?gregius, from e- (“out of”), + grex (“flock”), + English adjective suffix -ous, from Latin suffix -osus (“full of”); reflecting the positive connotations of "standing out from the flock".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /????i?.d??s/, /????i?.d?i.?s/
• Rhymes: -i?d??s

Adjective

egregious (comparative more egregious, superlative most egregious)

1. conspicuous, exceptional, outstanding; usually in a negative sense.
   • 16thC, Christopher Marlowe, Ignoto,

     I cannot cross my arms, or sigh "Ah me," / "Ah me forlorn!" egregious foppery! / I cannot buss thy fill, play with thy hair, / Swearing by Jove, "Thou art most debonnaire!"

   • c1605, William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well, Act 2, Scene 3,

     My lord, you give me most egregious indignity.

   • 22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Games[1]

     When the goal is simply to be as faithful as possible to the material—as if a movie were a marriage, and a rights contract the vow—the best result is a skillful abridgment, one that hits all the important marks without losing anything egregious.
2. Outrageously bad; shocking.

Usage notes

The negative meaning arose in the late 16th century, probably originating in sarcasm. Before that, it meant outstanding in a good way. Webster also gives “distinguished” as an archaic meaning, and notes that contemporary usage often has an unpleasant connotation (for example, “an egregious error”). It generally precedes such epithets as ass, blunderer, rascal, and rogue. The Italian as well as Spanish cognate egregio has retained a strictly positive sense, as has the Portuguese cognate egrégio.

Related terms

• egregia cum laude

Derived terms

• egregiously
• egregiousness

Translations

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???k??/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /???k??/
• Rhymes: -?k??

Adjective

shocking (comparative more shocking, superlative most shocking)

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

   What a shocking calamity!

Synonyms

See Thesaurus:surprising

Translations

Verb

shocking

1. present participle of shock

Noun

shocking (plural shockings)

1. The application of an electric shock.

Anagrams

• Hockings, chokings