The word "惊世骇俗" is formed by combining two parallel verb-object phrases: "惊世" (shocking the world) and "骇俗" (astounding customs). Each phrase pairs a verb ("惊" meaning to shock, or "骇" meaning to astonish) with a noun ("世" meaning world, or "俗" meaning customs), resulting in a compound where the two halves mirror each other structurally to emphasize the concept of causing widespread shock and amazement.