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.

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

When the wife went in to wake the baby for another feeding, the husband opened the sliding door and followed the dog out onto the balcony.

— Téa Obreht, New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2026
Article continues below this ad Benjamin Franklin is sometimes associated with the idea because of a satirical 1784 letter suggesting people wake earlier to take advantage of daylight.

— Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 31 Oct. 2026

Definition of wake

Verb

The film follows three animatronic robots who awaken after centuries of silence to discover humanity has vanished and embark on a journey to find their creators.

— Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 6 Nov. 2026
But a burning rage and hunger for vengeance awakens in the flames.

— Zac Ntim, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of awaken

Verb

More important, Europe has finally awoken to the economic threat from China, because the surge of auto and industrial exports from China to Europe poses an existential challenge for the continent’s economic model.

— THEODORE BUNZEL, Foreign Affairs, 2 Nov. 2026
The Heat awoke Tuesday as the NBA’s only 0-4 team and thoroughly bewildered about how a group that fashioned itself a contender could continue to perform so poorly.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2026