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
Fred Katz, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
But the race was shook up last month when progressive politician Kim declared her candidacy.
—Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2026
Fiddelke shook up Target’s leadership team effective Sunday, bringing back the role of chief merchant and announcing a high-profile departure.
—Melissa Repko, CNBC, 18 Feb. 2026
Agents Get Their Shut-Eye Before COVID shook up the indie film business, all-night bidding wars were a staple of Sundance.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026
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
Verb
Chicago shook up its strategy, pushing him to the sideline with Holmgren’s defender as his own man scrambled in for a double team.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
But the race was shook up last month when progressive politician Kim declared her candidacy.
—Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2026
Fiddelke shook up Target’s leadership team effective Sunday, bringing back the role of chief merchant and announcing a high-profile departure.
—Melissa Repko, CNBC, 18 Feb. 2026
Agents Get Their Shut-Eye Before COVID shook up the indie film business, all-night bidding wars were a staple of Sundance.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shook-up
Adjective
-
The Frogs made enough big shots in the final minutes to prevent another upset.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
7 Mar. 2026
-
However, other kids of the same age range might be more upset by the violence and harsh realities of nature—especially the ruthless and brutal of hierarchy of nature during the dinosaur years.—
Alex Shoemaker,
Parents,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Those are just some examples of how Chinese startups and tech giants are rapidly expanding worldwide, one year after DeepSeek’s AI reasoning model shocked global investors.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Trenace Dorsey-Hollins, leader of the education advocacy group Parent Shield Fort Worth, said she was shocked by the news that Molinar would be replaced.—
Silas Allen,
Dallas Morning News,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The Van Gogh attribution, for instance, was subsequently matched by more conventional research, including technical analyses and studies of the artist’s letters (museum experts concluded that the portrait’s unusually dampened colors simply reflected Van Gogh’s troubled mental state at the time).—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Her panel’s core thesis is that historically, in troubled times, people rewrite the rules, build better systems and make things better.—
Ramon Ramirez,
Austin American Statesman,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The murder appalled the city, and Musa’s family demanded justice.—
Anand Gopal,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Some Lakes residents are appalled by her solicitation.—
Steve Bousquet,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
If tweedy free-speech absolutists and their aggrieved students are capable of finding common ground, this will be the issue that unites them.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
-
As various subplots chugged along toward their combustion point, top dog Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and his aggrieved nephew Michael (Finn Cole) had their final stand-off.—
Miriam Balanescu,
IndieWire,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Heather Graham stunned in a striped bikini during a beach date in Mexico with Michel Civetta.—
Staff Author,
InStyle,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The January operation that removed Maduro stunned both allies and adversaries, abruptly ending more than a decade of his rule and creating a power vacuum within the socialist movement.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
While cathartic for a moment, both Claire and Jamie are distraught, thinking that their daughter could have been alive and never knew.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
-
That’s a lot of people, plus their distraught families.—
Jim Nowlan,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Mar. 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 11 Mar. 2026.
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