as in upset
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as in shocked
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 shook-up
Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
The scandal shook up elections statewide, with Republican groups spending millions on a flurry of ads attacking Jones, NBC News reported.
—Kevin Breuninger,dan Mangan, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2025
The shooting also shook up the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, which underwent a flurry of personnel and policy changes.
—Christopher Cann, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025
The Cleveland Browns shook up the NFL landscape with their headline-making trade of Joe Flacco to the 2-3 Cincinnati Bengals.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
As one of the original Try Guys members, Fulmer shook up the group and the fanbase when his affair was unearthed.
—Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2025
Paltrow shook up the look with her bottoms, trading traditional slacks for a pair of belted capris that fell just below the knee.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 23 Sep. 2025
Kraft shook up his campaign by parting with his top advisers Will Keyser and Eileen O’Connor earlier this week.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 6 Sep. 2025
Conflicting messaging and ambiguous guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration shook up the usual launch of annual vaccines.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 27 Aug. 2025
Verb
Ohio State’s loss to Miami shook up the College Football Playoff and paved the way for a new favorite.
—Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
The scandal shook up elections statewide, with Republican groups spending millions on a flurry of ads attacking Jones, NBC News reported.
—Kevin Breuninger,dan Mangan, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2025
The shooting also shook up the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, which underwent a flurry of personnel and policy changes.
—Christopher Cann, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025
The Cleveland Browns shook up the NFL landscape with their headline-making trade of Joe Flacco to the 2-3 Cincinnati Bengals.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
As one of the original Try Guys members, Fulmer shook up the group and the fanbase when his affair was unearthed.
—Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2025
Paltrow shook up the look with her bottoms, trading traditional slacks for a pair of belted capris that fell just below the knee.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 23 Sep. 2025
Kraft shook up his campaign by parting with his top advisers Will Keyser and Eileen O’Connor earlier this week.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 6 Sep. 2025
Conflicting messaging and ambiguous guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration shook up the usual launch of annual vaccines.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shook-up
Adjective
-
Buss reportedly was upset with the way James dismissed his part in pursuing Westbrook and blamed others after the move failed, according to ESPN.—
Janis Carr,
Oc Register,
23 Jan. 2026
-
The 14-year-old’s girlfriend told investigators that Givens had threatened over Snapchat to kill her 1½-year-old son and that the 14-year-old was upset about it, the complaint says.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The news shocked those who played both for and against Belichick.—
Amos Morale III,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
-
On March 12, Ujlaky’s friends, family and the community were shocked when police arrested Bryce Dickey, also of Spring Creek, and charged him with the crime.—
KC Baker,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Instead, the 35-year-old is shifting gears by turning her troubled past into a new trade.—
Jermont Terry,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
An English boarding school for troubled boys is the backdrop of this quiet yet accomplished début novel, set in 1976.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Jefferson—the original originalist—would have been appalled at some of our recent Supreme Court decisions.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Aggie is appalled at Nile’s presumptuousness, his entitlement.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
6 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
In Virginia, a dissident hinterland landowner named Nathaniel Bacon led a revolt by aggrieved Colonists that torched the English provincial capital at Jamestown.—
Peter C. Mancall,
The Conversation,
9 Jan. 2026
-
At the core of this extremism is the dangerous view that the founders viewed aggrieved citizens who attack the government through armed violence as righteous patriots, rather than the enemies of the state.—
Douglas Letter,
Time,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Jacquot later echoed that gratitude herself in a video update, telling viewers she was stunned by what the internet had done for her grandson.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
21 Jan. 2026
-
This came a month after Oliver Laxe’s film stunned observers by popping off at the Oscars shortlists, so that’s two industry precursors the film has made waves at despite being Neon’s fourth priority.—
Nate Jones,
Vulture,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Harrowing footage circulating online shows his distraught father desperately searching among piles of bodies covered with black body bags, crying out for his missing son.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Instead, Indiana won its first-ever national championship, and UM went home distraught.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Of course, no guest wants to dine at the home of a host whose off-putting etiquette makes everyone feel ill at ease either.—
Alesandra Dubin,
Southern Living,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Both were a byword, too, for male beauty, fully alive to the almost laughable impact of their handsomeness, yet ill at ease, now and then, with their perches on the pedestal.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shook-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shook-up. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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