worked-up
adjective
worked-up
American
[wurkt-uhp]
/ ˈwɜrktˈʌp /
Or
worked up,
adjective
worked up
British
adjective
Etymology
Origin of worked-up
First recorded in 1900–05
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
By the same token, a lot of people who are super worked-up about "cancel culture" are also isolated and anxious about being left behind in a changing world.
From Salon ● Dec. 27, 2022
Her best portraits combine areas of worked-up detail — especially hands and faces — with areas intentionally left blank or given only cursory treatment.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 25, 2021
It’s also very effective at lulling a worked-up child into relaxation, especially at bedtime.
From Slate ● Nov. 26, 2019
When you find yourself mansplaining the term “mansplaining” to a worked-up faction of Twitter on a Sunday evening, you can assume you’re not getting the best out of your leisure time.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 12, 2019
They have the same rhetorical ring, the worked-up fervor in place of genuine passion, which was noted in Collins' ode "On the Passions."
From A History of English Romanticism in the Eighteenth Century by Henry A. (Henry Augustin) Beers
Burnham the mayor has beaten the drum for the new Liverpool-Manchester Northern Powerhouse Rail and the high speed Manchester-Birmingham line he worked up with former West Midlands Mayor Andy Street.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Miraculously, it worked up until the “very last second” before they stepped on the bus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
"It's surely going to keep shaking. I'm going to stay calm; I'm not going to get worked up about the breathing issue."
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
She has accused the principal of “playing his best Nancy Drew,” and said her phone is “blowing up” with locals worked up over the suspensions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
We put the horses away, knowing that if they worked up a sweat, it would turn to ice on their backs.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
