eye-opener

noun

eye-open·​er ˈī-ˌō-pə-nər How to pronounce eye-opener (audio)
-ˌōp-nər
1
: a drink intended to wake one up
2
: something startling, surprising, or enlightening
her biography is a real eye-opener
eye-opening
ˈī-ˌō-pə-niŋ How to pronounce eye-opener (audio)
-ˌōp-niŋ
adjective

Examples of eye-opener in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The speed of play, however, has been an eye-opener. Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 16 Feb. 2024 The developments this week will have been an eye-opener for William, with the future surely occupying some of his thoughts. Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN, 8 Feb. 2024 This collection of erudite essays is a rich, revealing eye-opener. Allen Pierleoni -, Sacramento Bee, 30 Jan. 2024 Skelton: In an eye-opener, most California Democrats don’t want U.S. siding with Israel This just seems startling, writes columnist George Skelton: California Democrats think overwhelmingly that America should not take sides in the horrific war in Gaza. Laurel Rosenhall, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2023 And Thompson-Robinson might be in for an eye-opener facing Aaron Donald for the first time. Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2023 Generic Viagra Prices in the U.S. vs. International Markets Comparing prices of generic Viagra in the United States and other countries can be quite an eye-opener. Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 5 Nov. 2023 That song was written to be an eye-opener, so maybe some of your kids or grandkids will feel guilty and go see about grandma or go see about grandpa. Liza Lentini, SPIN, 26 Oct. 2023 The findings are quite the eye-opener: one in 10 Amazon customers have been offered incentives like gift cards, refunds and even free products, all in a bid to rack up those golden stars next to products. Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, 16 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eye-opener.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of eye-opener was in 1817

Dictionary Entries Near eye-opener

Cite this Entry

“Eye-opener.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eye-opener. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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