culture shock

noun

1. a state of bewilderment and distress experienced by an individual who is suddenly exposed to a new, strange, or foreign social and cultural environment.

culture shock

noun

1. sociol the feelings of isolation, rejection, etc, experienced when one culture is brought into sudden contact with another, as when a primitive tribe is confronted by modern civilization

Other Word Forms

• culture-shocked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of culture shock¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Idioms and Phrases

A state of confusion and anxiety experienced by someone upon encountering an alien environment. For example, It's not just jet lag—it's the culture shock of being in a new country. This term was first used by social scientists to describe, for example, the experience of a person moving from the country to a big city. It is now used more loosely, as in the example. [Late 1930s]

Example Sentences

But at a recent gathering she had a "culture shock" when she realised she was actually the oldest attendee.

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“I think it was a bit of a culture shock for me… I remember thinking how the people in Virginia just talked different.”

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You grew up in South L.A. and Harbor City, and then you went to college in UC Santa Barbara; definitely a culture shock in terms of diversity.

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When I was 14 years old, I went there for two months to visit relatives and it was a complete culture shock.

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Where they live during this time is causing tensions between the council and parents - and it can also come as a culture shock to the young islanders.

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