keyed up
5
6.9
- idiom
- /kiːd ʌp/
- You're tense, you're keyed up.
- too keyed up
- so keyed up
- feel keyed up
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Watch on YouTubeSo to be this high tech right now and be doing this, man, I'm I'm keyed up.
- So to be this high tech right now and be doing this, man, I'm I'm keyed up.
- And I'm sorry I'm a little keyed up today, but let's let's replay what Will was struggling with.
- You know, we had Eddie Bravo in on, on the on as a guest this past week and that man, he's keyed up.
Examples
-
I'm way too keyed up to sleep.
-
Actually, I'm terribly keyed-up about the meeting.
-
I feel very keyed up, as though I were planning a surprise party.
-
I was feeling a little nervous and keyed up.
Fiction book (1995) -
Keller felt keyed up, eager to get to it.
Fiction book (2000) -
It was still too early, but I was so keyed up I couldn't sit still.
Fiction book (1995) -
She felt keyed up at the prospect of what lay ahead—frightened that the session would be a bust, but almost equally apprehensive about other possibilities.
Fiction book (1995) -
I'm so keyed up for the concert tonight that I can hardly sit still.
-
After weeks of preparation, everyone felt keyed up and ready for the big presentation.
-
She was keyed up with excitement when she learned she got the job.
Synonyms
93
6.5
Very upset or nervous because of strong feelings
77
7.7
Very excited and eager about something
36
5.2
Feeling very nervous and unable to relax
31
4.6
Ready to take action or respond quickly
28
5.5
Very excited about something, often before it happens
24
5.1
Very excited and full of energy because something good is about to happen
12
2.3
The state of being prepared to act immediately
5
5.6
Being very excited and full of energy
5
7.5
Ready and excited to do something important
3
7.5
Feeling excited and full of energy about something
2
6.8
Very excited about something that will happen
1
3.1
A strong feeling of joy and energy that makes you unable to sit still
1
4.7
Full of lively energy because people feel excited
1
8.3
Easily excited and quickly become anxious
Antonyms
How Excited
Surface Forms
Morphology
keyed + up
The adjective 'keyed up' is idiomatic: the constituent 'key(ed)' is not transparently related to excitement or readiness and has multiple senses that a B1 learner would not reliably map to this emotional/physiological state. Although the particle 'up' can signal increased intensity, that alone is insufficient for a learner to derive the meaning 'anxious/excited/ready', so the phrase is best treated as opaque.
Etymology
The phrase keyed up may come from old music boxes and clocks that you wind with a key. When their parts were wound up, the machine was full of energy and ready, so people started using keyed up for someone who is 'ready' or 'excited'.