CLAMMED UP Synonyms: 22 Similar and Opposite Words

clammed up

verb

past tense of clam up

as in hushed

to stop talking the little girl clammed up when the doctor came into the room

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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.

Recent Examples of clammed up Anyone asked by local or national media over the past few months if they’d been invited to the nuptials clammed up quickly. — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 2 July 2026 On Israel, a lot of candidates have clammed up. — Naaman Zhou, New Yorker, 22 June 2026 The Arrested Development actor clammed up when Smartless cohost Jason Bateman brought up Arnett's ex-wife and their bathroom habits. — Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 22 June 2026 The atmosphere had changed—security kept an eye out for media to turn away at the entrance, and golfers clammed up when asked what was going on at the club. — Dan Alexander, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026 Everyone in the theater clammed up, as if embarrassed to have endorsed Max with laughter. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2026 But when co-host Maria McErlane looked for details, Norton clammed up. — Joseph Wilkinson, Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2026 The famously outgoing media personality clammed up, on air and off, thanks to a terrifying stranger. — Ross Raihala, Twin Cities, 7 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for clammed up

Verb

The normally festive and rowdy crowd inside the basketball arena in Dallas quickly hushed as a five-minute memorial video began playing.

— ABC News, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026
Moments ago, the courtroom was hushed when the mistrial was declared, marking an emotional close for this jury in the nearly six-week trial.

— Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of hushed

Verb

Business in villages like Bajo Chiquito dried up, and villagers returned to growing plantains.

— Belén Fernández, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
As political support for decarbonizing the existing energy system has dried up, data centers have emerged as a new center of financial gravity, drawing in unprecedented billions from the biggest tech and Wall Street firms.

— Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of dried up

Verb

These days we are surrounded by ghosts and gossamer visions vying for our attention, trying to tell us something vital—or as mundane as to shut up already, like in my case.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
Talk is cheap, but today the automaker put up instead of shutting up by revealing a new Nissan Z concept with a factory T-top, a feature that vanished from sports cars over two decades ago.

— Joel Feder, The Drive, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of shut up

Browse Nearby Words

clammed

clammed up

clamminess

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“Clammed up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clammed%20up. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of clammed up

verb

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