all shook up

Idioms  

1. Greatly disturbed or upset, as in His letter left her all shook up. This slangy idiom uses shook instead of the grammatically correct “shaken” (for “agitated”) and adds all for emphasis. [Second half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

all shook up

If you think of late-career Elvis Presley as only a plump and gaudy Las Vegas crooner slinging schlock in the 1970s, you’re about to get all shook up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026

It’s now or never for this week’s Slate News Quiz, but don’t get all shook up.

From Slate ● May 24, 2024

This is where things get all shook up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2023

“We’re all shook up by this event,” resident Reyna Diaz, 67, said through tears.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 24, 2023

"Yeah, she's okay. I told her that I was going to go take care of all this drama today in Brownsville, and of course, that has her all shook up."

From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds

Related Words

• fiery
• furious
• vehement
• violent