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culture shock
noun
: a sense of confusion and uncertainty sometimes with feelings of anxiety that may affect people exposed to an alien culture or environment without adequate preparation
Examples of culture shock in a Sentence
Foreign students often experience culture shock when they first come to the U.S.
Moving to the city was a huge culture shock for him.
Recent Examples on the Web
First, Sheriff Joy (Tamara Podemski) literally walked into the past to 1886 and spent four years living with a Native tribe this season, something that has left her with culture shock upon returning to the present.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 17 May 2024
Marina is Jessica’s cousin who recently moved to Roku City and is experiencing some culture shock.
—Dennard Dayle, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2024
The upshot for job-seeking coders is confusion, culture shock, and hours of work done for free.
—Lauren Goode, WIRED, 22 Feb. 2024
Moving to the Kansas City area, which has 20% more people than live in all of Nebraska, was a culture shock.
—Heather Hollingsworth, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for culture shock
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'culture shock.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1932, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near culture shock
Cite this Entry
“Culture shock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture%20shock. Accessed 16 Jun. 2024.
Medical Definition
culture shock
noun
: a sense of confusion and uncertainty sometimes with feelings of anxiety that may affect people exposed to an alien culture or environment without adequate preparation
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