耸人听闻

聳人聽聞
sǒngréntīngwén
idiom #24,445

Meanings

  1. 1 sensational
  2. 2 shocking
  3. 3 to make one's hair stand on end
  4. 4 (of news or claims) deliberately exaggerated to shock

Examples

Zhège xīnwén biāotí tài sǒngrén tīngwén le, nèiróng qíshí hěn pǔtōng.
This news headline is totally sensationalist — the content is actually quite ordinary.
Tā jiǎng le yīgè sǒngrén tīngwén de gùshi, bǎ dàjiā dōu xià dào le.
He told a shocking story that frightened everyone.
Méitǐ xǐhuān bàodào yīxiē sǒngrén tīngwén de shìqing lái xīyǐn yǎnqiú.
The media likes to report sensational things to attract attention.

Tips

usage
耸人听闻 often has a negative connotation — implying deliberate exaggeration for shock value rather than genuinely startling truth. It is frequently used to criticize tabloid or clickbait journalism.

Stroke Order

sǒng
rén
tīng
wén