shell shocked

Adjective

shell-shocked (comparative more shell-shocked, superlative most shell-shocked)

1. (dated) Stunned or mentally unbalanced by prolonged stress such as experienced in combat or under fire (shell-fire); suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
   • Glenn Kilbourne had returned from France early that fall, shell-shocked and gassed, and otherwise incapacitated for service in the army—a wreck of his former sterling self.1922, Zane Grey, chapter 1, in The Call of the Canyon
2. (figuratively) Confused as a result of a traumatic experience.
   • With inflationary pressures easing and economic concerns mounting, shell-shocked investors are seeking the protection of government securities.2008 December 18, Luke Mullins, “The Top 5 Housing-Market Hopes for 2009”, in U.S.News & World Report, retrieved 22 Dec 2008

Verb

shell shock (third-person singular simple present shell shocks, present participle shell shocking, simple past and past participle shell shocked)

1. (figuratively, transitive) To stun or debilitate as by a shock.
   • It was General du Pont's 'forty-five' which bellowed and thundered and echoed through Fifth avenue, scaring horses and shell shocking pedestrians.1919, Bulletin of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, numbers 148-152, page xx

See all 5 meanings of shell shock