Cambridge directly records shocked + to-infinitive and shocked at + complement, supporting this narrow complement comparison.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Use “shocked to see/hear/discover…” when shock is followed by an infinitive event. Use “shocked at something” when the complement names the fact, result, or circumstance producing shock.
Key details
Confusion Familyverb-complement
Rule Familyverb-complementation
Termsshocked to do, shocked at something
Further guidance
Core difference
Cambridge documents shocked + to-infinitive and shocked at + noun/clause as standard patterns.
Style Boundary
Use at for the thing, fact, or degree that causes shock; use to + base verb for an event or discovery expressed as an infinitive.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
Shocked↗ (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Direct learner-dictionary evidence for shocked + to-infinitive and shocked at + noun/clause.
Cambridge directly records amazed + to-infinitive and amazed at + complement, making it an evidence-safe replacement for the unsupported Satisfied proposal.
Oxford directly records both ashamed + to-infinitive and ashamed of + noun/pronoun. The guide compares those attested structures without inventing an unsupported parallel complement.
Oxford directly documents averse to (doing) something. This is a prepositional to + noun/-ing construction, so a bare infinitive should not be assumed to be an interchangeable complement.
Oxford documents the idiomatic adjective pattern bent on (doing) something for determination. The evidence does not license a parallel bent + to-infinitive complement for that same meaning.
