as in to shock
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 shake up
Seth Yudof, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2025
On March 14, a total lunar eclipse in Virgo will shake up your routines and daily rituals, urging you to address unhealthy habits or imbalances in your day-to-day life.
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 3 Mar. 2025
Tamara Keith, NPR, 2 Mar. 2025
On March 14, a total lunar eclipse in Virgo will touch down on your third house of communication, bringing powerful shake-ups to your third house of communication and immediate surroundings.
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 1 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shake up
Verb
By partnering with cultural institutions, independent curators or even that eccentric music professor who knows the underground scene, platforms could shake up playlists, enhance the listening experience and open new revenue streams by appealing to audiences hungry for variety.
—Seth Yudof, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2025
On March 14, a total lunar eclipse in Virgo will shake up your routines and daily rituals, urging you to address unhealthy habits or imbalances in your day-to-day life.
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 3 Mar. 2025
Noun
Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images President Trump returns to the House chamber on Tuesday for his first address to a joint session of Congress since retaking the White House, a moment where he is expected to revel in his shake-up of Washington and lay out some plans for the year ahead.
—Tamara Keith, NPR, 2 Mar. 2025
On March 14, a total lunar eclipse in Virgo will touch down on your third house of communication, bringing powerful shake-ups to your third house of communication and immediate surroundings.
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 1 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shake up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shake up
Verb
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The Taser shocked him for a few seconds, then Wilhoite got into his car and drove away, according to the affidavit.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Feb. 2025
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Timothée Chalamet pulled an upset win for Outstanding Male Actor for A Complete Unknown and Conclave shocked as well with an Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture win at the 2025 SAG Awards Sunday night in Los Angeles.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
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And many trips to the Eagle Gold mine in Julian, Calif. (still a 3-hour drive from us) for testing and shakeout.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
14 Aug. 2019
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The post-Hollywood strikes shakeout seems to be stabilizing.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
2 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The is some discretion within government in determining what is deemed essential for any shutdown, so the exact scope of any shutdown can vary.—
Simon Moore,
Forbes,
25 Feb. 2025
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Samberg’s emergence as an elite shutdown defenseman has been a godsend for the Jets.—
Harman Dayal,
The Athletic,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Dismay or appall you, sure, but never surprise you.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Dec. 2024
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That kind of appalls me to think that people need not expect that of themselves.—
David Marchese Photograph by Mamadi Doumbouya,
New York Times,
15 Feb. 2024
Noun
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On Wednesday evening, a small group of parents, students and CTU organizers gathered outside Rufino Tamayo Elementary in Gage Park holding signs and plastic candles to protest the potential closing of the school.—
Ikram Mohamed,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2025
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For instance, if your organization is engaged in ongoing change initiatives in response to the changing economic landscape of healthcare—such as closing clinics with less traffic, asking vendors for more competitive pricing and even staff reductions—tie all those changes back to one meaningful why.—
Elizabeth Baskin,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
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In the months since the militant opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham stunned the world by bringing down the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad in early December 2024, Syria has faced many pressing concerns.—
PATRICK VINCK,
Foreign Affairs,
4 Mar. 2025
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Maryland has never earned the No. 4 seed in the league tournament and was the No. 5 seed once in 2019 when it was stunned by No. 13 Nebraska in the second round.—
Edward Lee,
Baltimore Sun,
3 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shake up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shake%20up. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
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