Shock quotes
126 quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
"It comes as a great shock…to discover that the flag to which you have pledged allegiance…has not pledged allegiance to you. It comes as a great shock to see Gary Cooper killing off the Indians, and although you are rooting for Gary Cooper, that the Indians are you."
"I prefer to shock rather than to bore through repetition."
"A first visit to a madhouse is always a shock."
"To become acquainted with oneself is a terrible shock."
"I foresee death by culture shock."
Explore further
Browse quotes that often appear alongside shock — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"I know this will come as a shock to you, Mr. Goldwyn, but in all history, which has held billions and billions of human beings, not a single one ever had a happy ending."
"I rarely get recognised. It's always a shock when someone notices me. I always think they must be confusing me with someone else."
"Who burns me and shocks me and shatters me with a single touch."
"I am to provide the public with beneficial shocks."
"I'm an old sinner. Nothing shocks me."
"When we're not defending and justifying, and we're being very still, our answers can and do shock us."
"I didn't want to be a shock absorber; I wanted to deliver the shock."
"Animators can only draw from their own experiences of pain and shock and emotions."
"Grabbing hold of facts in the midst of shock is very Erudite of him."
"To get into the best society, nowadays, one has either to feed people, amuse people, or shock people - that is all!"
"Well, it's nice being top banana in the shock department."
"Truth makes many appeals, not the least of which is its power to shock."
"The worst part about celebrating another birthday is the shock that you're only as well as you are."
"I was a Reagan backer. It was a shock for some people that I could agree with anything that man would say."
"Humor is based on surprise, and surprise is a milder way of saying shock. It's surprise that makes the joke."
"Better to sink beneath the shock Than moulder piecemeal on the rock!"
"I have been a practitioner of tough politics for many decades. There is little that amazes me and even less that shocks me."
"Law that shocks equity is reason's murderer."
"I stared at the television in shock, watching as my private life was revealed to the world."
"I'm 48, which is a bit of a shock to me. Why only last year I thought I was a precocious young thing!"
