shaken down

verb

past participle of shake down
as in cheated
to rob by the use of trickery or threats the rumor is that he started his career shaking people down as an enforcer for the mob

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 shaken down Law firms are shaken down into submission. — Christopher Bouzy, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shaken down
  1. cheated
  2. squeezed
  3. plucked
  4. stung
  5. beaten
  6. ripped off
  7. stuck
  8. done
Verb
  • But the idea that girls are being cheated is personal for some athletes.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Miller—who is no stranger to extramarital tabloid scandals herself—has also mastered her getting-cheated-on performances.
    — Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of cheated
Verb
  • Apple has already implemented a series of price hikes on some of its hardware offerings due to rising memory costs, but margins can still be squeezed if the full increase wasn't passed through.
    — Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2026
  • But in Israel at least, creatives have been stymied in recent years by a plethora of measures that have left them squeezed between censorship at home and international boycotts.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of squeezed
Verb
  • Stars Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgard, Raymond Nicholson and Tom Francis as college football stars plucked from the height of their sports careers and into Marine training and the Pacific theater.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Luckily for the man, having all of the adult worms plucked from his orbs meant the infection was over—no antiparasitic medication required, even if some of the larvae had been left behind.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of plucked
Verb
  • Stephanie Rowell — a 53-year-old from Round Hill, Virginia — was standing on her parents’ front porch in July when she was stung by a wasp in her left arm.
    — Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Back in the mind-mansion, Ultron doesn’t admit Thomas stung him.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of stung
Verb
  • Byfield beat goalie Samuel Ersson with a snap shot from the high slot, with Drew Doughty picking up his third assist of the night on the play.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Bickelhaupt received treatment in summer 2025, after she was beaten severely in June at her West Palm Beach home.
    — Zoey Thomas, Sun Sentinel, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of beaten
Verb
  • With Florida leading a 20-17 lead, however, Baugh ripped off a 13-yard gain on second down and eventually capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026
  • First was comic and content creator, George Brett Olson, who did a breakdown (watch it below) accusing an AI Instagram account with 300,000 followers of seemingly ripped off his joke word for word.
    — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of ripped off
Verb
  • Raichlen’s career, in a way, is similar in that he’s never been stuck in the lane of writing about barbecuing only brisket and pork.
    — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Other franchises have run into the same issues — looking at you, Star Wars — but Halo has been stuck in this purgatory for 15+ years, as Xbox leaders and strategy shifts come and go.
    — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of stuck
Verb
  • Watch the tape, get some corrections done, and then straight to the next.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • These types of moments in news conferences, the cutoff hoodies, and the 25-year-old ex-girlfriend/business partner are all as much of his story as all the winning he's done throughout his career.
    — Sean Joseph OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of done

Browse Nearby Words

shaken a leg
shaken down
shaken (off)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shaken down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shaken%20down. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

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