sticker shock

noun

: astonishment and dismay experienced on being informed of a product's unexpectedly high price

Examples of sticker shock in a Sentence

We left the store suffering severe sticker shock.

Recent Examples on the Web

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After all, prices are up by 22.7% from five years ago, compared with an 8.9% increase in the five-year period from 2014-2019, so everyone continues to live with some measure of sticker shock. —

Jill Schlesinger, The Mercury News, 30 Dec. 2024 Image People who wanted to live in TriBeCa or SoHo may have been stunned by sticker shock in 2024. —

Josh Ocampo, New York Times, 29 Dec. 2024 With the average price of a new vehicle having skyrocketed by around $10,000 over the last five years, car shoppers are justifiably suffering from sticker shock, with the affordability problem being exacerbated by financing rates that have nearly doubled since 2022. —

Jim Gorzelany, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024 Inflation remained on our minds and on our ballots Trump is returning to White House partially because of voters' continued sticker shock following 40-year-high inflation. —

Interactive Graphics Team, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for sticker shock