vibe shift

US/ˈvaɪbˌʃɪft/

noun

A major change in the current zeitgeist.

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Meanings

nounvibe shift (plural vibe shifts)

plural vibe shifts · alternative vibe-shift

  1. neologismslangA major change in the current zeitgeist.

    [Sean Monahan] thinks the new vibe shift could be the return of early-aughts indie sleaze.

    2022 February 16, Allison P. Davis, “A Vibe Shift Is Coming – Will any of us survive it?”, in New York, →ISSN
    1 more example

    If there wasn't technically a depression, the country had certainly woken up in a depressed mood. There was a marked vibe shift from the sunny optimism of the Reagan '80s.

    2025 June 7, John Ganz, “The decade that made Donald Trump”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 19

Origin

Coined in a Substack post in June 2021 by trend forecaster Sean Monahan.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

vibe shift. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vibe%20shift

MLA

“vibe shift.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vibe%20shift. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vibe shift,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vibe%20shift.

Source: vibe shift on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.