future shock

noun

: the physical and psychological distress suffered by one who is unable to cope with the rapidity of social and technological changes

Examples of future shock in a Sentence

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.
Ultimately, this shift toward more robust risk assessment is essential for building a resilient cyber insurance market capable of withstanding future shocks. Matt Cullina, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024 More important, building and paying attention to a broad set of metrics for present-day well-being and its sustainability—whether good times are durable—would help buffer societies against future shocks. Joseph E. Stiglitz, Scientific American, 1 Aug. 2020 If true once, this hardly seems so anymore in a digital era of relentless future shock. Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 16 June 2023 But no one should rely on such policy measures to avert future shocks from severe weather driven by climate change. Robert Litan, Foreign Affairs, 26 Oct. 2022 Core resources also power UNICEF's work to build stable, resilient communities better able to withstand future shocks from conflict, climate change and natural disasters. Sarah Ferguson, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2023 The answer to future shock is future forecasting. Devon Powers, Wired, 30 Dec. 2021 Though Drake and his producers emphasize lovey-dovey samples and lazily played piano this time out, this album could have arrived during Obama’s second term and no one would have felt future shock. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2021 Originally intended for theaters, McKay's film got sucked into a future shock of its own during the pandemic and was sold to Amazon. Jake Coyle, Star Tribune, 1 July 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of future shock was in 1965

Dictionary Entries Near future shock

Cite this Entry

“Future shock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/future%20shock. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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