How to Use rude awakening in a Sentence

rude awakening

noun
  • But did his rude awakening to the majors shake him?
    — Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 16 Aug. 2025
  • So Games 1 and 2 proved to be a rude awakening.
    — Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 13 June 2026
  • This guy, Bryce Mills, has a rude awakening.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026
  • Local politicians who were hoping to get a quick pay raise this year may be in for a rude awakening.
    — Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Residents on the upper floors on the opposite side of a building got a rude awakening as well.
    — Kris Habermehl, CBS News, 26 June 2026
  • But that also provided something of a rude awakening.
    — Joe Kozlowski, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
  • Based on the Season 4 premiere, the town’s residents, who yearn to escape, are now in for a rude awakening.
    — Taylor Ardrey, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2026
  • The Tennessee native took the squad to the US this summer, where they were given a rude awakening.
    — Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
  • These poor Dutch and Japanese fans are about to get a rude awakening on North Texas traffic control.
    — Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 June 2026
  • The residents of a home in southeast Denver had a rude awakening Sunday morning when a car crashed through their fireplace.
    — Christa Swanson, CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025
  • Buyers expecting complete privacy can get a rude awakening.
    — Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2025
  • Cold front to bring ‘rude awakening’ Temperatures are then expected to tumble as a cold front moves through the area late Saturday and overnight.
    — Kansas City Star, 23 Dec. 2025
  • Anybody who thought the Detroit Lions would come into the season with new coordinators on both sides of the ball and keep humming along was in for a rude awakening.
    — Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Today’s Gemini full moon delivers an attitude adjustment – or a rude awakening!
    — Usa Today, USA Today, 4 Dec. 2025
  • Anyone hoping for an extended romantic getaway was in for a rude awakening when the fall 2026 calendar officially dropped.
    — Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2026
  • In 2024, in the final weeks of the Biden administration, Coplan got a rude awakening at home from the FBI.
    — Anderson Cooper, CBS News, 1 Dec. 2025
  • Utah kids using VPNs to access adult content are set for a rude awakening this week as SB 73 goes into effect to crack down on the practice.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 5 May 2026
  • This isn't necessarily a problem yet, but after a couple of years of being able to rely on Nick Folk and Ryan Stonehouse as stalwarts, the Titans could have a rude awakening.
    — Nick Suss, The Tennessean, 18 Aug. 2025
  • Abdul Carter received a rude awakening Sunday when the New York Giants sidelined him for their first defensive series against the Green Bay Packers.
    — Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 18 Nov. 2025
  • Folks who have gotten used to one of the warmest Februarys on record were in for a rude awakening Friday morning as a cold front ushered in much colder weather overnight, according to the National Weather Service.
    — Kansas City Star, 20 Feb. 2026
  • New Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh could face a rude awakening this week with the release of key inflation data that economists expect to show consumer prices continuing to surge in April.
    — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 26 May 2026
  • Former Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich has had a rude awakening thus far following his migration to the ACC.
    — Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025
  • The Moment Every Enterprise Hits Most organizations scaling AI experience the same rude awakening.
    — Sven Oehme, Forbes.com, 10 Mar. 2026
  • Advertisement Indeed, American businesses banking on a generation of limited climate regulation could be up for a rude awakening come 2028—not too far away for companies who plan investments on long time horizons.
    — Justin Worland, Time, 14 Nov. 2025
  • But the coaches Ferguson thought would stay on to provide continuity — Mike Phelan, Rene Meulensteen, and Eric Steele — left when Moyes wanted to go his own way, and the scale of the club was a rude awakening for the new boss on the club’s pre-season tour of Australia.
    — Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2026

Some of 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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