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
Amazon Game Studios boss Christoph Hartmann is exiting his post as the tech giant shakes up its overall gaming strategy, Variety has learned.
—
Jennifer Maas, Variety, 29 Jan. 2026
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
Jennifer Maas, Variety, 29 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shakes up
shocks
Verb
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By contrast, in the United States, employers are not required to offer or contribute to a retirement plan at all – a fact that shocks many workers with pensions.—
Teresa Ghilarducci,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
That moment is similar to one in the show where another closeted hockey star, Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) shocks the world by kissing his secret boyfriend on center ice after winning a championship.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shakes up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shakes%20up. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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