culture shock

noun

: a sense of confusion and uncertainty sometimes with feelings of anxiety that may affect people exposed to an unfamiliar 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

Experience certainly matters, but the NWSL is so much more international now; what was once considered a culture shock of physicality and transitional play isn’t quite as potent anymore. —Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026

Last season the workload and culture shock — differences in schedule, travel, language, to name a few — overcame him. —Shayna Rubin, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 Mar. 2026

Every culture shock was a positive one. —Celia Fernandez raffi Paul, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2026

Another culture shock from her time in Paris? —Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 25 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for culture shock

• electroshock
• aftershock
• antiknock
• arawak
• hollyhock
• interlock
• isopach
• manioc
• shuttlecock
• tomahawk
• weathercock
• alcock

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