rude awakening


noun
  1. an occurrence of being made to face an unpleasant fact

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use rude awakening in a sentence

  • Fortunately he had not changed his coat since his rude awakening.

    The Higher Court | Mary Stewart Daggett
  • He had a rude awakening when the sealed letter he bore was opened and read in the Council.

  • My shoulder was bruised and my head aching, and no one can imagine my terrible fright at such a rude awakening.

    The Story of Dago | Annie Fellows-Johnston
  • Oh, well, put in Miss Campbell, she is just an angry old spinster who got obsessed with dates and then had a rude awakening.