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
Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2026
Slotkin shies away from answer on 2028 Visiting Iowa used to hold more obvious significance for Democrats before the party shook up the early presidential nominating calendar last cycle, bumping Iowa from its place as the first state to weigh in on the nominations.
—Hannah Fingerhut, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Shelton shook up the lineup before Monday’s game and the Twins (4-6) got some immediate results.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 7 Apr. 2026
Spielberg’s vision shook up the pantheon of prehistory, elevating the once-obscure predator Velociraptor to box-office stardom and winning it a place on an NBA expansion team’s jerseys.
—Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026
The rising style star shook up her glam in the ‘90s, ditching the colorful shade for more neutral tones.
—Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 4 Apr. 2026
Rare Beauty shook up the cosmetics industry with its viral liquid blush.
—Elizabeth Denton, Allure, 1 Apr. 2026
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
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
Verb
Zuckerberg shook up his company's strategy after the April release of Llama 4, which failed to captivate developers.
—Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2026
Slotkin shies away from answer on 2028 Visiting Iowa used to hold more obvious significance for Democrats before the party shook up the early presidential nominating calendar last cycle, bumping Iowa from its place as the first state to weigh in on the nominations.
—Hannah Fingerhut, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Shelton shook up the lineup before Monday’s game and the Twins (4-6) got some immediate results.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 7 Apr. 2026
Spielberg’s vision shook up the pantheon of prehistory, elevating the once-obscure predator Velociraptor to box-office stardom and winning it a place on an NBA expansion team’s jerseys.
—Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026
The rising style star shook up her glam in the ‘90s, ditching the colorful shade for more neutral tones.
—Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 4 Apr. 2026
Rare Beauty shook up the cosmetics industry with its viral liquid blush.
—Elizabeth Denton, Allure, 1 Apr. 2026
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shook-up
Adjective
-
Esther said that Kim was upset about McCormick's bizarre behavior.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
-
The demonstrations have been primarily instigated by farmers, agricultural contractors and road haulage operators, who are upset with the government’s response to the spike in fuel prices since the onset of the Iran war.—
Michael Considine,
CNBC,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
His team-mates were shocked too.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Jordan, who used to be the Hornets’ majority owner and still has a small piece of the team, volunteered that he had been shocked by Knueppel.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
One of Altman’s batch mates in the first Y Combinator cohort was Aaron Swartz, a brilliant but troubled coder who died by suicide in 2013 and is now remembered in many tech circles as something of a sage.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
-
In March, the Dallas City Council did not make a final decision on what to do about the troubled City Hall building.—
S.E. Jenkins,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The proposal appalled the science community and lawmakers.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Back in Brooklyn after college at Emerson, she was appalled by the march toward war that followed 9/11.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
OutKick’s Davey Hudson took to the streets of Nashville and New York City last month to talk to aggrieved football fans.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
9 Apr. 2026
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Liverpool had their own reasons to feel aggrieved when Ibrahima Konate had a goal denied after the ball was deemed to have dribbled in.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Neighbors there were stunned when police swooped in to make their arrest at the house where, neighbors said, Heuermann grew up with his parents and brother.—
April 8,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The results from him and 38 other patients have since stunned some of the field’s top experts.—
Jason Mast,
STAT,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The vlogger Jordan Cheyenne, for one, wrecked her sharenting career by accidentally posting footage of herself coaching her son, who was distraught over the family’s sick puppy, to make a specific kind of sad face for YouTube.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2026
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The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Jesse O’Hara, said his clients were distraught and heartbroken over the treatment of their baby.—
Rafael Olmeda,
Sun Sentinel,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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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 13 Apr. 2026.
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