as in appalls
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
Uranus retrograde, however, shakes up our mental landscape, bringing everything from lightning-fast downloads and unpredictable ideas that could lead to a shift in perspective.
—
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2025
In the kitchen, her cousin shakes up a few lemon drops as her manager waits for a drink at the granite counter.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 30 Oct. 2025
The actor previews how the show will honor the death of Krause's Bobby Nash — and how that shakes up things amongst the 118 firefighters.
—Patrick Gomez, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Oct. 2025
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
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2025
In the kitchen, her cousin shakes up a few lemon drops as her manager waits for a drink at the granite counter.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 30 Oct. 2025
The actor previews how the show will honor the death of Krause's Bobby Nash — and how that shakes up things amongst the 118 firefighters.
—Patrick Gomez, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Oct. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shakes up
shocks
Verb
-
Someone’s unexpected behavior might push you to set new boundaries or make a financial move that shocks even you.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
-
This novel is about an aging Brooklyn deacon shocks his community by shooting the local drug dealer in 1969.—
Kris Slugg,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shakes up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shakes%20up. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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