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
At the head of the family was Keaton as the family matriarch, Sybil Stone, whose breast cancer diagnosis shakes up their reunion.
—
Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
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
Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
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
-
Violence shocks neighbors Neighbors said the violence unfolded in just seconds.—
Andrew Ramos,
CBS News,
10 Jan. 2026
-
Rather than comply, Deborah shocks everyone by telling the audience the truth and loses her show.—
Jenelle Riley,
Variety,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shakes up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shakes%20up. Accessed 23 Jan. 2026.
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