jolt

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jolt / jōlt/ • v. [tr.] push or shake (someone or something) abruptly and roughly: a surge in the crowd behind him jolted him forward. ∎ fig. give a surprise or shock to (someone) in order to make them act or change: she tried to jolt him out of his depression. ∎  [intr.] move with sudden lurches: the train jolted into motion.• n. an abrupt rough or violent movement. ∎  a surprise or shock, esp. of an unpleasant kind and often manifested physically: that information gave her a severe jolt.DERIVATIVES: jolt·y adj.