culture shock

noun

: a sense of confusion and uncertainty sometimes with feelings of anxiety that may affect people exposed to an unfamiliar 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

Sarkissian, whose family started one of the first banquet halls in Los Angeles, remembers that his father acted as a friend and counselor to a lot of immigrants who suffered extreme culture shock. —Ani Duzdabanyan, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026

This column has been a culture shock to a lot of folks who haven't been here for the past four years. —Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 15 June 2026

But the young Richards caught the soccer bug early on and pushed through culture shock as a teenager on a professional contract in Germany to blossom into a talented defender. —Russell Lewis, NPR, 12 June 2026

But her outdoorsy childhood in Jervis Bay made stepping into new environments, like college, a culture shock. —Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 29 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for culture shock

• electroshock
• aftershock
• antiknock
• arawak
• hollyhock
• interlock
• manioc
• shuttlecock
• tomahawk
• weathercock
• alcock
• beanstalk

Medical Definition

culture shock

noun

: 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