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
  • King is one of those tragic figures ripe for a rude awakening.
    — Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
  • Thus, the Falcons could be in for a rude awakening in this game.
    — Michael Arinze, Chicago Tribune, 20 Nov. 2022
  • 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
  • That one wasn’t received very well, and that became a rude awakening.
    — David Browne, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2024
  • Even for the many who voted for him, the specter of this coalition has served as a rude awakening.
    — Time, 10 Jan. 2023
  • 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
  • Companies and investors who ignore this may be in for a rude awakening.
    — Justin Worland, TIME, 2 Feb. 2024
  • For some onlookers, the events of recent weeks offer a rude awakening.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2023
  • Some couples are in for a rude awakening, setting up the recoupling to be a huge bombshell.
    — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 5 July 2024
  • Seeing and hearing the other students play was a rude awakening.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Jan. 2025
  • Rich Americans who have tried to avoid paying their taxes are in for a rude awakening.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 11 July 2024
  • Comcast subscribers who are Cubs and Yankees fans may soon be in for a rude awakening.
    — Alex Sherman, CNBC, 27 Mar. 2025
  • 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
  • Being taught by Idol that the outside world might mock the parts of herself she was taught to embrace was a rude awakening.
    — Nico Lang, Rolling Stone, 14 June 2024
  • The writing is on the wall; directors who keep pushing cyber risk down the back burner may be in for a rude awakening.
    — Phillimon Zongo, Forbes, 20 Apr. 2023
  • There's no turning back and no backup plan, but Brandan is in for a rude awakening before his plane has even left the ground.
    — Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 10 July 2023
  • But that also provided something of a rude awakening.
    — Joe Kozlowski, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
  • The first players to actually try VR sword duels, though, were in for a rude awakening.
    — Steve Haske, Ars Technica, 7 Oct. 2022
  • 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
  • But those who have been living it up in their remote-first or fully remote desk jobs since 2020 may be in for a rude awakening.
    — Jane Thier, Fortune, 23 Dec. 2023
  • As the moon and Jupiter clash, volunteering yourself for future obligations will lead to a rude awakening!
    — USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024
  • 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
  • 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
  • Robby Ashford’s first road start provided a rude awakening against one of the nation’s best defenses.
    — Tom Green | [email protected], al, 9 Oct. 2022
  • The result was a bit of a rude awakening for Wrexham, who had been unbeaten in the league this season before Monday.
    — Ben Church, CNN, 17 Sep. 2024
  • 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

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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