rude awakening

noun

: surprising and unpleasant discovery that one is mistaken
He thinks he can get by without doing any work, but he is in for a rude awakening.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web If broadcast Pilot Season is any indicator, the Peak TV numbers are in for a rude awakening. Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Feb. 2023 Yet anyone under the impression that zombies will be shuffling off AMC – to Buffalo or anywhere else – are in for a rude awakening. Brian Lowry, CNN, 2 Oct. 2022 Even for the many who voted for him, the specter of this coalition has served as a rude awakening. Time, 10 Jan. 2023 Ohio State’s front seven is going to be a rude awakening. cleveland, 25 Nov. 2022 Thus, the Falcons could be in for a rude awakening in this game. Michael Arinze, Chicago Tribune, 20 Nov. 2022 Fresh off a tropical vacation to Isla Mujeres to celebrate his 4-year anniversary to the country music superstar, Brendan was faced with a rude awakening in the form of icy Nashville weather. Katie Bowlby, Country Living, 4 Feb. 2023 Bruce Bohuny, a director at Lakeland Bank, warns that capital may become prohibitively expensive for companies with mediocre credit, which could be a rude awakening. Lila Maclellan, Fortune, 16 Dec. 2022 The strategy was aimed at hooking the casual gamer, but Hall had a rude awakening, perhaps like Dr. Frankenstein might have felt when his company received data showing gamers in South Korea were playing as much as 35 hours a week, and that was on top of their day jobs. WIRED, 26 Nov. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rude awakening.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“Rude awakening.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rude%20awakening. Accessed 5 Jun. 2023.

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