identity crisis

noun

Definition of identity crisis

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 institution or organization regarding its nature or direction

Examples of identity crisis in a Sentence

He is suffering from an identity crisis.

Recent Examples on the Web In that short distance lies a glimpse of the Republican Party’s identity crisis. — Jennifer Medina, New York Times, 13 May 2022 The category-cutting fracas, though, is best understood as a symptom of a deeper identity crisis. — Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2022 Look, he's clearly got an identity crisis and his film is equally in trouble. — Mark Kennedy, Chron, 31 Mar. 2022 Then there’s House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who is wrangling with a Democratic Party suffering an identity crisis and a wave of retirements from her caucus ahead of what is likely to be brutal midterm election. — Evan Halper, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2022 But as a Best Picture winner for this specific year, for a movie industry with an identity crisis and struggling through the Covid era, CODA was a perfectly insane choice. — Ross Douthat, National Review, 31 Mar. 2022 But with the red carpet preshow airing during that hour, many stars and nominees feel put in an awkward situation at a fraught moment, as an industry obsessed with its image undergoes an identity crisis in real time in front of the world. — Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2022 Facebook’s identity crisis is driven, in part, by teenage users abandoning it for the endless supply of short videos on TikTok. — Reece Rogers, Wired, 9 Mar. 2022 Ukraine's identity crisis: Once part of the former Soviet Union, the country is central to Russian President Vladimir Putin's plans to extend Russian influence in Europe. — Chelsey Cox, USA TODAY, 17 Feb. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'identity crisis.' 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

19 May 2022

Cite this Entry

“Identity crisis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/identity%20crisis. Accessed 25 May. 2022.

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More Definitions for identity crisis

identity crisis

noun

Medical Definition of identity crisis

: 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