culture shock

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

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 Others have struggled with problems brought on by the early hardship in their lives, profound culture shock and the inability of their new parents to handle the challenges. — New York Times, "An Earthquake, an Orphanage, and New Beginnings for Haitian Children in America," 19 Oct. 2020 Was there culture shock or an adjustment coming back? — Dalton Ross, EW.com, "Survivor Quarantine Questionnaire: Robb Zbacnik reveals a big Thailand fight that was not filmed," 25 Sep. 2020 When Glenn-Copeland went off to college in 1961 to study German lieder and oboe at McGill University in Montreal, the culture shock was great. — Washington Post, "Don’t despair: Beverly Glenn-Copeland actually has hope to offer us in 2020," 25 Sep. 2020 Was there culture shock or an adjustment coming back? — Dalton Ross, EW.com, "Survivor Quarantine Questionnaire: Mitchell Olson on being outed after the show," 11 Sep. 2020 Was there culture shock or an adjustment coming back? — Dalton Ross, EW.com, "Survivor Quarantine Questionnaire: Erinn Lobdell on coming up one day short in Tocantins," 1 Sep. 2020 Moore builds terrific suspense, alternating this story with that of her later life in America, of culture shock and the effects of war trauma. — Katherine A. Powers, Star Tribune, "Audiobooks: Great audiobooks to listen to now," 31 July 2020 Moore builds terrific suspense, alternating this story with that of her later life in America, of culture shock and the effects of war trauma. — Katherine A. Powers, Star Tribune, "Audiobooks: Great audiobooks to listen to now," 31 July 2020 Was there culture shock or an adjustment coming back? — Dalton Ross, EW.com, "Survivor Quarantine Questionnaire: Chrissy Hofbeck reveals she injured leg off-camera on the show," 7 Aug. 2020

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.

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Last Updated

22 Oct 2020

Cite this Entry

“Culture shock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture%20shock. Accessed 29 Oct. 2020.

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More Definitions for culture shock

culture shock

noun

English Language Learners Definition of culture shock

: 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

See the full definition for culture shock in the English Language Learners 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