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
Ali Mohammadi | Bloomberg | Getty Images The oil market faced a rude awakening this week after Iran launched a large-scale ballistic missile attack against Israel, briefly sending crude prices more than 5% higher Tuesday after a period of sleepy trading.
—
Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2024
Otherwise, Davis may be in store for a rude awakening.
—Giana Levy, refinery29.com, 8 Oct. 2024
But the realities of the entertainment industry were a rude awakening.
—Alanna Bennett, Glamour, 3 Oct. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for rude awakening 
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2024
Otherwise, Davis may be in store for a rude awakening.
—Giana Levy, refinery29.com, 8 Oct. 2024
But the realities of the entertainment industry were a rude awakening.
—Alanna Bennett, Glamour, 3 Oct. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for rude awakening
Dictionary Entries Near rude awakening
Cite this Entry
“Rude awakening.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rude%20awakening. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share