as in shocks
informal
something that shows or teaches you something in a surprising way
Traveling abroad can be a real eye-opener to many people. They say her biography is quite an eye-opener.
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Recent Examples of eye-openers
These two series are eye-openers about some of the ways people outside our experiences live.
—
Colleen Kujawa,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Mar. 2026
The closeness in my race and the closeness in the president's race last year were real eye-openers.
—
ABC News,
2 Nov. 2025
Beringer noted the speed and physicality of Minnesota’s preseason games have been eye-openers.
—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
14 Oct. 2025
But under the hood, there are some other eye-openers.
—
Tony Blengino,
Forbes.com,
12 Aug. 2025
Colleen Kujawa,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Mar. 2026
The closeness in my race and the closeness in the president's race last year were real eye-openers.
—
ABC News,
2 Nov. 2025
Beringer noted the speed and physicality of Minnesota’s preseason games have been eye-openers.
—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
14 Oct. 2025
But under the hood, there are some other eye-openers.
—
Tony Blengino,
Forbes.com,
12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for eye-openers
Noun
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Pandemic bottlenecks, wars, climate shocks and geopolitical tension exposed the fragility of global supply chains.
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Asian stocks still have room to run even after a blistering first-half rally, while investors should continue diversifying into commodities as geopolitical shocks reinforce long-term demand for metals and energy infrastructure, Goldman Sachs said.
Noun
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Johnson was undone by revelations of his conduct during Covid lockdowns and Truss by the adverse market reaction to her 2022 mini-Budget.
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Trump has been fuming about its revelations, and a parlor game around who-leaked-what has been underway in DC since excerpts first appeared in the Times.
Noun
-
And the gap between what people expect and what actually happens is one of the most expensive surprises in business.
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July 3 could bring shocks or surprises; just beware of being too risky or impulsive.
Noun
-
The building jolts and is cloaked in blackness.
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Edwards’ explosiveness produces randomized jolts of spectacular.
Cite this Entry
“Eye-openers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/eye-openers. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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