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
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
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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Customers spend an average of $30 to $40 on costumes and $10 to $20 on joke or gag items, like a doughnut with a roach attached to the bottom, or a fake car fob that shocks the hand.—
Michael Butler,
Miami Herald,
9 Oct. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Shakes up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shakes%20up. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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