worked up
93
6.5
- idiom
- Informal
- I was so worked up after the meeting that I couldn't focus on anything else.
- get worked up
- so worked up
- pretty worked up
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Watch on YouTubeI'm backstage and I'm all worked up and I'm tightly wound.
- I'm backstage and I'm all worked up and I'm tightly wound.
- Like it's so easy to get worked up about things that don't matter.
- All right, sorry, it gets so like worked up over these things.
- That's when you will see them get really worked up.
- Tell her you need to calm down and that you get really worked up.
- What would be motivating a person to get so worked up about this, as so many people do, right?
- And he really must have been worked up because he made the same spelling error not once, but twice.
- The fact that you know, the all the stuff that we get very worked up about in the long run, it kind of doesn't matter, right?
- Let me tell you, I was blown away by how he got so worked up like that over me just missing my girls and wanting to spend time with them.
Examples
-
Some people get all worked up about the government.
Fiction book (1997) -
I'm so worked up right now, can you feel my heart beating?
-
Sometimes I get really worked up and sometimes I get a little hot.
-
Why are you getting so worked up about this?
-
Most of the time, her friends got her all worked up for nothing.
Blog text (10) -
I mean, I'd hate to get all worked up and then we find we differ on a tax cut.
-
Like it's so easy to get worked up about things that don't matter.
-
This has gotten me really worked up and I'm ready to chill out now.
-
You're getting very worked up.
-
Everybody gets worked up about treasure hunts.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Feeling very happy and eager about something
598
2.1
Showing strong feelings that are easy to see
87
5.0
Nervous and tense so you cannot relax
84
4.1
Feeling nervous, upset, and not calm
61
6.9
Very excited and full of energy about something
36
5.2
Feeling very nervous and unable to relax
5
6.9
Feeling nervous and excited, ready to start
5
4.4
Feeling very upset or excited and restless
5
7.5
Ready and excited to do something important
2
9.9
Feeling very upset or angry about something
Antonyms
How Agitated
- Informal
158
3.9
- Informal
93
6.5
84
4.1
∞
1.0
92
3.2
680
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
worked + up
The adjective 'worked up' derives from the phrasal verb 'work up' where 'work' + 'up' conveys an increase or arousal of state; learners who know 'work' and the intensifying/raising sense of 'up' can infer a heightened condition. However, the shift to specifically meaning 'very upset/excited/agitated' is metaphorical and somewhat conventionalized, so the precise emotional sense is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Worked up may come from the picture of work being done up on something, like stirring or heating a pot until it bubbles and moves. That's why someone who is worked up is 'very upset' or 'excited'.