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
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.
Even moving from Highfield Road, in the heart of the city, to the Ricoh, on the northern outskirts, was a culture shock in the hope of progress. — Oliver Kay, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026 Moving to a big city, California’s state capitol, was a huge culture shock, Tran says. — Kiara Adams, Sacbee.com, 4 July 2026 And count Richards among those who find Balogun's culture shock to be a hilarious distraction during the down time on international breaks and this World Cup cycle. — ABC News, 29 June 2026 And despite the serious culture shock, this fish out of water comes to believe rural Edgewater has something to offer her. — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 29 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for culture shock

Word History

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of culture shock was in 1932

Rhymes for culture shock

See All Rhymes for culture shock

Browse Nearby Words

culture of success
culture shock
culture trait
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Culture shock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture%20shock. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

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
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All