identity crisis

noun

1

: personal psychosocial conflict especially in adolescence that involves confusion about one's social role and often a sense of loss of continuity to one's personality

2

: a state of confusion in an entity, institution, or organization regarding its nature or direction

England is the last place on earth one would expect to find a national identity crisis, yet … the English are now asking, "What is my nation?"

—Wilson Quarterly

Examples of identity crisis in a Sentence

He is suffering from an identity crisis.

Recent Examples on the Web

And Superstars centers on an early-30s identity crisis set between French techno and rock scenes in the 90s. —Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026

Higher education is undergoing an identity crisis. —Jake Angelo, Fortune, 6 Jan. 2026

This time, being first out the gate, the CCAs got to set the tone the way that the Globes usually do, and here lies that identity crisis. —Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 5 Jan. 2026

And the thing that scared me the most was my cultural identity crisis, talking about being an Asian-American. —NBC news, 28 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1941, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for identity crisis

• ecdysis
• haemoptysis
• hemoptysis
• lysis
• phthisis

Medical Definition

identity crisis

noun

: personal psychosocial conflict especially in adolescence that involves confusion about one's social role and often a sense of loss of continuity to one's personality