KNOCK UP Synonyms: 22 Similar and Opposite Words

knock up

verb

Definition of knock up

British

as in to wake

to cause to stop sleeping I asked the clerk at the hotel to knock me up at 7:00 a.m.

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Example Sentences

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 knock up The pair collided with such force that Dumoulin got knocked up about two feet in the air before landing hard on his padded backside. — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 27 Apr. 2026 Meanwhile, while Miranda busies herself with building a pageant empire, her husband Ray, a pill-popping nurse, has knocked up the 18-year-old granddaughter of one of his hospice patients. — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025 Julia, worried, maintains that she’s not knocked up. — Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 15 Aug. 2025 With 200 hp worth of empty space to play with before knocking up against the 600-hp V12 Verado, Mercury is dialing up the overall output of the V10 range by adding a new 425-hp variant as the flagship of the family. — New Atlas, 12 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for knock up

Recent Examples of Synonyms for knock up

Verb

In the middle of the night, as the floodwaters were rising, the dog woke her by shaking water off herself, giving the family enough time to climb a ladder onto the roof of their home just minutes before it was completely flooded.

— Fabiola Sanchez, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026
After the young widow stepped back behind the black curtains, where scoops of mint chocolate chip in disposable bamboo bowls drifted through a room of donors and White House staffers, the evening moved from celebration to wake.

— Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of wake

Verb

Played with exquisite, improbably expressive steeliness by Florence Pugh, Cathy does not awaken from nowhere as a predator.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
That day in August, the woman was awakened by Ross, who was enraged by a photo she was tagged in on Instagram, according to Ross’ arrest report.

— Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of awaken

Verb

Back in 2018, Tarantino reportedly awoke in the middle of the night to find two burglars inside his home.

— Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Alice gets to keep her leg, albeit with extensive scarring, and Anna does her best to forget about the sacrificial part of the pact until she is awoken one night by a noise downstairs.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of awake

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“Knock up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knock%20up. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of knock up

verb

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