culture shock

noun

|Updated on: 13 Jul 2018

Examples: culture shock in a Sentence

Definition of culture shock

: 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

See culture shock defined for English-language learners

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 of culture shock from the Web

Although some American basketball players who go abroad suffer from homesickness or culture shock, Briscoe has no horror stories to tell.

— josh robbins, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Orlando Magic, point guard Isaiah Briscoe reach deal," 5 July 2018
For Brooklyn-native Speier, his new home is still a culture shock.

— john carlisle, Detroit Free Press, "Father, son bond writing U.P. bars book and it becomes a cult classic," 10 June 2018
Now two very different couples face a nine-month odyssey of culture shock, clashing values, changing attitudes and unlikely – but heartfelt – friendships.

— matthew j. palm, OrlandoSentinel.com, "New Pegasus PlayLab theater festival brings new works to UCF," 7 June 2018
Just visiting Parkway for a few hours was a culture shock for Germantown Friends School students, who expressed surprise at having to walk through metal detectors and be subjected to airport-like scanning.

— jenice armstrong, Philly.com, "Yo, Philly: Is there a David Hogg or an Emma Gonzalez out there? | Jenice Armstrong," 6 June 2018
Attending South Meck was a culture shock for Ledezma.

— leah asmelash, charlotteobserver, "This Charlotte grad came to U.S. as an infant. She has plans 'to change our world.'," 6 June 2018
Things like financial aid, culture shock and a strong support network — or lack thereof — can help or hinder a student’s success.

— genevieve bookwalter, chicagotribune.com, "Northwestern, Evanston public schools to research what students need to not only start college but finish," 22 May 2018
Dooling credits the Suns new coach for his ability to teach players despite the culture shock and language barriers.

— alex schiffer, kansascity, "This Missouri coaching staff had two NBA coaches and one executive | The Kansas City Star," 2 May 2018
Put frankly, the transition to Campbell has been a culture shock for a lot of South Alabama players.

— creg stephenson, AL.com, "5 takeaways from South Alabama's 2018 spring practice," 16 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'culture shock.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of culture shock

1932

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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CULTURE SHOCK Defined for English Language Learners

culture shock

noun

Definition of culture shock for English Language Learners

: a feeling of confusion, doubt, or nervousness caused by being in a place (such as a foreign country) that is very different from what you are used to

Medical Dictionary

culture shock

noun

medical Definition of culture shock

: 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