Meaning & use
shocking pink
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Meanings
noununcountable
A very bright, intense pink with a slight purple tint.
Grammar: Uncountable as a color name: painted in shocking pink.
Patterns
- painted in shocking pink
- a shade of shocking pink
The shop was painted in shocking pink.
She chose shocking pink for the front door.
Shocking pink stood out against the gray wall.
adjectivebefore a noun
Of this very bright, intense pink color.
Grammar: Often written with a hyphen before a noun: a shocking-pink dress.
Patterns
- shocking pink something
She wore a shocking pink scarf.
The band used shocking pink lights.
He drove a shocking pink convertible.
Common combinations
- shocking pink dress
- A shocking pink dress turned every head.
- bright shocking pink
- The flowers were a bright shocking pink.
- painted shocking pink
- They painted the walls shocking pink.
- shocking pink lipstick
- Her shocking pink lipstick matched her shoes.
- splash of shocking pink
- A splash of shocking pink livened up the room.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hot pink
- Hot pink is the everyday term and is slightly less purple than shocking pink.
- fuchsia
- Fuchsia is a purplish-pink named after a flower and tends to be deeper and less vivid.
- magenta
- Magenta is a purplish red and sits further from pink than shocking pink.
- neon pink
- Neon pink glows and is fluorescent, which shocking pink is not.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: shocking pink or hot pink?
shocking pink vs hot pink
Both are vivid, but shocking pink is more intense and slightly purple.
Practice
Which color is closest to shocking pink?
Choose one answer.
Shocking pink is intense and vivid. Pale rose is its soft opposite, and the other colors are not pink.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “shocking pink”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.