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
-
Europe is particularly vulnerable to energy shocks as a major net energy importer.—
Chloe Taylor,
CNBC,
2 June 2026
-
The years since 2020 can be read as a sequence of shocks.—
Dr. Aditya Vikram Kashyap,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
The case of Rana al-Abbasi, who also was a dentist and who had been accused of funding the opposition, was well-known in Syria, and this week's revelations have received wide coverage in the country's news media.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 June 2026
-
The team managed to gain access to festival in the desert’s shadowy leadership and key players, so expect some startling revelations.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Tuesday’s primary elections across six states brought some surprises and history-making results, but now all eyes are on California as the results of the state’s primary are still coming in on Wednesday.—
James Ward,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
-
Were the surprises still intact?—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
The building jolts and is cloaked in blackness.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
22 May 2026
-
Edwards’ explosiveness produces randomized jolts of spectacular.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Eye-openers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/eye-openers. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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