identity crisis

noun

1
: personal psychosocial conflict especially in adolescence that involves confusion about one's social role and often a sense of loss of continuity to one's personality
2
: a state of confusion in an institution or organization regarding its nature or direction

Examples of identity crisis in a Sentence

He is suffering from an identity crisis.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Between the lines: Top Democrats are divided on how to confront Trump, as the party faces an identity crisis following the 204 election. — Sareen Habeshian, Axios, 15 Mar. 2025 The story picks up years after Tess (Curtis) and Anna (Lohan) endured an identity crisis. — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 14 Mar. 2025 Progressives are certainly looking for more attention and are trying to use the party’s identity crisis in a way that benefits them. — Hanna Trudo, The Hill, 7 Mar. 2025 On top of that, the bifurcated score underlines the film’s identity crisis, oscillating between plucky guitar compositions from Andrew Simon McAllister better suited to a buddy-cop comedy and smooth, synth-heavy instrumentals from Mono Town that align more with a sleek spy flick. — Courtney Howard, Variety, 20 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for identity crisis

Word History

First Known Use

1941, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of identity crisis was in 1941

Rhymes for identity crisis

See All Rhymes for identity crisis

Browse Nearby Words

identity card
identity crisis
identity element
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Identity crisis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/identity%20crisis. Accessed 30 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Medical Definition

identity crisis

noun
: personal psychosocial conflict especially in adolescence that involves confusion about one's social role and often a sense of loss of continuity to one's personality

More from Merriam-Webster on identity crisis

Nglish: Translation of identity crisis for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about identity crisis

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
burrowing owl athene cunicularia tilts its head outside its burrow on marco island florida
Guess the Curious Origins of These Everyday Words Oh, that’s where that comes from…
See All