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.
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of eye-openers
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
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
-
Room for Disagreement Markets are extraordinarily resilient to geopolitical shocks, even ones that generate big headlines, according to Deutsche Bank research.—
Andy Browne,
semafor.com,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Typically, long-term unemployment has gone down after the job market recovers following recessionary shocks like the pandemic or Great Recession.—
Jennifer Liu,
CNBC,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Beccuau also said some material from old investigations is to be revisited in the light of new revelations.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
19 Feb. 2026
-
And there are likely more revelations and resignations to come, given the millions of documents spanning many years in the files released.—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
That knowledge translates directly into negotiating power — and into avoiding the expensive surprises that catch unprepared buyers off guard.—
Allison Palmer
Updated February 19,
Kansas City Star,
19 Feb. 2026
-
There may be surprises in Tokyo as well.—
Jean E. Palmieri,
Footwear News,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Simons also gave Boston timely jolts of off-the-bench scoring.—
Zack Cox,
Hartford Courant,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Elsewhere, jolts of intensity come from human hands turning round knobs in real time.—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
14 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Eye-openers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/eye-openers. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
