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

And the difficulty of his first full NHL schedule does not even take into account the culture shock Demidov and girlfriend, Ekaterina Yakovleva, are attempting to adjust to. —Arpon Basu, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2026

His first winter in Valparaiso gave him culture shock. —Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026

Last season the workload and culture shock — differences in schedule, travel, language, to name a few — overcame him. —Shayna Rubin, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 Mar. 2026

Every culture shock was a positive one. —Celia Fernandez raffi Paul, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for culture shock

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

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