churned-up
1
6.0
- adjective
- /tʃɜrnʌp/
- The heavy machinery churned up the dirt, leaving a messy construction site behind.
Examples
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After the storm, the lake looked churned-up and muddy.
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The churned-up sand made it difficult to walk on the beach.
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The heavy rain left the field churned-up and full of deep ruts.
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Their argument left him feeling churned-up inside for hours.
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Waves crashed against the rocks, sending churned-up foam high into the air.
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After the storm, the waves churned up the sand, making the beach look completely different.
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The horse galloped across the field, churning up the soft earth with its hooves.
Synonyms
4
7.6
A liquid moving fast and making rough waves
3
4.9
Water that moves in strong, swirling ways
1
8.3
Water that is cloudy and moving roughly
1
4.4
A liquid that is shaken or stirred so it moves and mixes
Antonyms
How Agitated
Surface Forms
Morphology
churned-up = churn up (transparent) = up + churn + ed
Formed from the phrasal verb 'churn up' with the participial suffix '-ed'; the adjectival meaning 'disturbed/agitated' follows directly from that base.
Etymology
Churned-up comes from churn, the wooden bucket people used to make butter where they 'stir' or 'beat' cream hard until it changes into butter. So to be 'churned-up' is to be stirred or shaken into a rough, messy state, which is why we say a field, the sea, or a feeling can look or feel 'churned-up'.