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

Whatever the case, the result is easily the franchise’s worst effort, riddled with muddled motivations, inconsistent characters and a serious identity crisis. —Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 3 Mar. 2026

Trump, as personalist and improvisational as Mohammed bin Salman, has no interest in resolving that identity crisis. —Ben Smith, semafor.com, 2 Mar. 2026

Whatever the case, the result is easily the franchise’s worst effort, riddled with muddled motivations, inconsistent characters and a serious identity crisis. —Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 27 Feb. 2026

If she is confirmed, Means will find herself at the center of a movement that is in the midst of an identity crisis. —Tom Bartlett, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026

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