as in appals
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 shakes up
This season dropped us in the middle of the action, where a mass shooting shakes up London and intensifies an already heated race to win Mayor.
—
Billie Melissa, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
Small Business Technology News #3 – AI shakes up the call center industry, but some tasks are still better left to the humans.
—Gene Marks, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
His departure comes as creator Lorne Michaels shakes up the cast ahead of Season 51.
—Peter White, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2025
Billie Melissa, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
Small Business Technology News #3 – AI shakes up the call center industry, but some tasks are still better left to the humans.
—Gene Marks, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
His departure comes as creator Lorne Michaels shakes up the cast ahead of Season 51.
—Peter White, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shakes up
shocks
Verb
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These shocks land heavily on Hispanics, who are overrepresented in construction, service, and blue-collar work sensitive to inflation and policy disruptions.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
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The elder Hall’s indifference toward his son’s life shocks even his captor, prompting a bonding moment that softens the viewer’s perceptions of both men.—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shakes up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shakes%20up. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.
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