culture shock

noun

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 The first season of Emily in Paris followed the titular heroine's new life as a marketing executive in Paris and the glamorous culture shock of moving from Chicago to the fashion capital. — Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE.com, 23 Sep. 2021 Miriam also grew up in South Florida, but in Hialeah; Coral Shores, with its lack of diversity, is a culture shock. — Oline H. Cogdill, sun-sentinel.com, 6 Oct. 2021 But going to school outside her neighborhood, one in a mostly white district, was a bit of a culture shock. — Sarah Volpenhein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 16 Sep. 2021 Giving back After living in California and the Keys, moving back to little ol’ Opp has been a bit of a culture shock for the globetrotting Gibson. — Bob Carlton | Bcarlton@al.com, al, 14 Sep. 2021 Still, culinary school gave him a serious case of culture shock. — Lucy Alexander, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2021 Just the right amount of culture shock, and yet still with familiar things to enjoy. — Kaitlin Menza, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Aug. 2021 The show confronts the culture shock of moving from the hoods of Atlanta to the suburbs of Indiana head-on with humor and hard conversations. — Justin L. Mack, The Indianapolis Star, 11 Aug. 2021 The change in environment was a culture shock for Hull in a number of ways. — Brande Victorian, Essence, 6 Aug. 2021

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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Dictionary Entries Near culture shock

culture of success

culture shock

culture trait

Statistics for culture shock

Last Updated

23 Oct 2021

Cite this Entry

“Culture shock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture%20shock. Accessed 27 Oct. 2021.

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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