jolt
/dʒəʊlt
/ /dʒɒlt /verb [with object]
1Push or shake (someone or something) abruptly and roughly: a surge in the crowd behind him jolted him forwards...
- Phoenix planted his foot on the accelerator jolting the vehicle forward.
- Renae jolted her leg forward at him, kicking Trent's legs crossed on the floor.
- Ian twisted his body sideways and banged his hip into the frame of the chair, jolting the rear wheels over the edge of the curb.
Synonyms
push, thrust;
jar, bump, knock, bang, jostle;
shake, joggle, jog, nudge
1.1Give a surprise or shock to (someone) in order to make them act or change: she tried to jolt him out of his depression...
- Through this work, he hopes to create a sort of electric shock that will jolt the audience into seeing what hides behind the image.
- This latest atrocity has sent a fresh shock wave to jolt us out of our complacency.
- The sort of shock we are in now could jolt us out of our determination to squander every human and natural resource in the pursuit of money and power for some, poverty for most.
Synonyms
startle, surprise, shock, stun, shake, take aback;
astonish, astound, amaze, stagger, stop someone in their tracks;
upset, disturb, perturb, disconcert, discompose, unnerve, throw off balance, set someone back on their heels;
galvanize, electrify
informal rock, floor, knock for six, knock sideways
1.2 [no object, with adverbial] Move with sudden lurches: the train jolted into motion...
- After a few minutes the wagon jolted and moved on the track and then there was a sudden thud that almost made Bligh cry out in fright.
- Tristyn screamed and jolted upward and moved her legs in a quick manner in an attempt to escape as quickly as possible.
- All of a sudden, the ship jolted from sided to side as if a wave had tried to push it over.
Synonyms
bump, bounce, jerk, rattle, lurch, shudder, vibrate;
British judder
rare jounce
noun
1An abrupt rough or violent movement: he felt a jolt when the plane started to climb...
- Any movement shot jolts of electricity to my toes, curling them in pain.
- Solicitor Susan Stephenson was working on some papers when there was a violent jolt and she realised the carriage was going over.
- Suddenly the room started shaking, then, with a violent jolt, it stopped.
Synonyms
bump, bounce, shake, jerk, lurch, vibration;
impact;
British judder
rare jounce
start, jerk, jump, abrupt movement, convulsive movement
1.1An unpleasant surprise or shock: that information gave her a severe jolt...
- Seeing Nora's advanced pregnancy gives Maxine her own jolt of shock.
- With a jolt of surprise, she realized that this had all been planned.
- He grinned and picked me up, sending a jolt of surprise through me and making me let out an involuntary shriek of laughter.
Synonyms
fright, the fright of one's life, shock, scare
informal turn
shock, surprise, bombshell, bolt from the blue, thunderbolt, rude awakening, eye-opener;
blow, upset, setback
informal whammy
Derivatives
jolty
/ /ˈdʒɒlti / adjective (joltier, joltiest) ...- In the early years the wheels had iron bands, so it was a fairly jolty ride to school.
- I'm not really keen on the atmosphere of lifts; too cramped, too many jolty movements and they just give me a general sense of unease.
- This game is a lot more jolty, and sort of a bit crazy, but I like that, I like that about it; the other version was much more safe.
Origin
Late 16th century: of unknown origin.