rude awakening
noun
: surprising and unpleasant discovery that one is mistaken
He thinks he can get by without doing any work, but he is in for a rude awakening.
Examples of rude awakening in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Chief marketing officers who are convinced that their companies are immune from deepfakes will be in for a rude awakening when they are proven wrong.
—
Edward Segal, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Listen to this article Skokie residents who live near Church Street and McCormick Boulevard got a rude awakening Friday morning after a broken water main flooded the areas of the neighborhood and the cold turned much of it to ice.
—Richard Requena, Chicago Tribune, 14 Feb. 2025
For MBAs who may rely heavily on campus recruiting programs, this shift can be a rude awakening.
—Chris Westfall, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
There’s no better example of that than Arkansas: a fine-but-nothing-special team that might be in for a rude awakening the next two months.
—Brendan Marks, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rude awakening
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Edward Segal, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Listen to this article Skokie residents who live near Church Street and McCormick Boulevard got a rude awakening Friday morning after a broken water main flooded the areas of the neighborhood and the cold turned much of it to ice.
—Richard Requena, Chicago Tribune, 14 Feb. 2025
For MBAs who may rely heavily on campus recruiting programs, this shift can be a rude awakening.
—Chris Westfall, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
There’s no better example of that than Arkansas: a fine-but-nothing-special team that might be in for a rude awakening the next two months.
—Brendan Marks, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rude awakening
Cite this Entry
“Rude awakening.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rude%20awakening. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
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