as in shocked
to cause an unpleasant surprise for
the news that we had failed the auto inspection shook us up
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Recent Examples of shaken up
That included roughly two years ago after Duke’s loss at Wake Forest, when Blue Devils player Kyle Filipowski was shaken up after a Demon Deacons fan collided with him, while Jared McCain’s exit to the tunnel was briefly blocked by a Wake Forest fan.
—
Aaron Beard, Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
Several fan-favorite characters have taken their leave amid the pressures of love, duty, and society, and each exit has shaken up the delicate order of the ton.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Feb. 2026
The accidental shooting left parents, staff and students shaken up.
—Jt Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
But the mayor of the state’s third-largest city has shaken up the most wide-open California governor’s race in decades.
—Grace Hase, Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2026
The shipping market is being shaken up by the intervention, with freight rates surging for some routes.
—Weilun Soon Bloomberg, Arkansas Online, 21 Jan. 2026
Burt, a delightful and spirited 69-year-old street musician with Parkinson’s has his daily life shaken up when, Sammy, a wayward young man from New York shows up claiming to be his son.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 6 Jan. 2026
In less than a year, Kennedy has bulldozed vaccine policy precedent and shaken up government personnel.
—Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 5 Jan. 2026
Fogliato, who has shaken up the leadership team with new hires, knew there were challenges and saw the company getting smaller and more targeted.
—Brian Womack, Dallas Morning News, 4 Jan. 2026
Aaron Beard, Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
Several fan-favorite characters have taken their leave amid the pressures of love, duty, and society, and each exit has shaken up the delicate order of the ton.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Feb. 2026
The accidental shooting left parents, staff and students shaken up.
—Jt Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
But the mayor of the state’s third-largest city has shaken up the most wide-open California governor’s race in decades.
—Grace Hase, Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2026
The shipping market is being shaken up by the intervention, with freight rates surging for some routes.
—Weilun Soon Bloomberg, Arkansas Online, 21 Jan. 2026
Burt, a delightful and spirited 69-year-old street musician with Parkinson’s has his daily life shaken up when, Sammy, a wayward young man from New York shows up claiming to be his son.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 6 Jan. 2026
In less than a year, Kennedy has bulldozed vaccine policy precedent and shaken up government personnel.
—Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 5 Jan. 2026
Fogliato, who has shaken up the leadership team with new hires, knew there were challenges and saw the company getting smaller and more targeted.
—Brian Womack, Dallas Morning News, 4 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shaken up
Verb
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Cubans were shocked by the US operation in January that captured their key ally, Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, and resulted in the deaths of more than 30 Cuban security forces protecting him.—
Bianna Golodryga,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
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DeepSeek's release at the time shocked global investors, who thought China could not innovate on AI without high-end Nvidia chips.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This is no longer about ideology, this is about standing up for those who are being wrongly arrested, being unfairly harassed or being made to feel constantly frightened in their own homes.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Why was Caesar Augustus frightened of Ovid?—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That scream likely scared off the man who showed no signs of backing off.—
Jermont Terry,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
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Broadly, more IPOs are expected this year, thanks to interest rate cuts and a large backlog of companies that have been scared off by market volatility and recession fears.—
Amelia Lucas,
CNBC,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shaken up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shaken%20up. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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