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
Return-to-office is a rude awakening for millions of Americans who were forced to go remote or hybrid during the pandemic and discovered the benefits of work-from-home status.
—
Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 17 Sep. 2024
Nine hundred days after launching his unprovoked war to swallow up neighboring Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has received a rude awakening: a surprise cross-border attack by Ukrainian forces, which quickly seized control of some 400 square miles inside southern Russia.
—Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Aug. 2024
What fans of the book will immediately notice is Baldoni’s deft touch in handling some of the more violent scenes on the page with a certain politeness — until the end, when Lily fully experiences a rude awakening.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2024
Here’s a timeline families can follow to help soothe any jitters and set their children up for success in the new school year:
A week before school starts
A blaring alarm can be a rude awakening after lax summer sleeping schedules.
—Contributing Writer, Orange County Register, 6 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rude awakening 
Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 17 Sep. 2024
Nine hundred days after launching his unprovoked war to swallow up neighboring Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has received a rude awakening: a surprise cross-border attack by Ukrainian forces, which quickly seized control of some 400 square miles inside southern Russia.
—Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Aug. 2024
What fans of the book will immediately notice is Baldoni’s deft touch in handling some of the more violent scenes on the page with a certain politeness — until the end, when Lily fully experiences a rude awakening.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2024
Here’s a timeline families can follow to help soothe any jitters and set their children up for success in the new school year:
A week before school starts
A blaring alarm can be a rude awakening after lax summer sleeping schedules.
—Contributing Writer, Orange County Register, 6 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rude awakening
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rude awakening.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Rude awakening.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rude%20awakening. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
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