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Glite Dictionary
to give one's head a shake

to give one's head a shake

8.6
Make yourself stop worrying and start thinking clearly
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : recapacitar
  • After hearing the wild rumor, she had to give her head a shake and remind herself to stay rational.

Examples

  • Give your head a shake, man!

    Blog text (25)

  • Give your head a shake!

    Blog text (25)

  • Give your head a shake and consider the industry again.

    Blog text (21)

  • Mabel gave her head a shake.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • When he realized he was overthinking the problem, he decided to give his head a shake and approach it with a fresh perspective.

  • Sometimes, in stressful situations, it's important to give your head a shake to clear your mind before making a decision.

Synonyms

to take a step back
vsto give one's head a shake
53 4.1

To pause and think again about a situation to see the bigger picture

is a mental reset aimed specifically at stopping irrational behavior
to come to one's senses
vsto give one's head a shake
  • Informal
46 4.4

Start thinking and acting in a sensible way again after being foolish or upset

is a quick deliberate mental reset to stop irrational thinking
to get one's head straight
vsto give one's head a shake
  • Informal
6 7.0

To calm your mind and think clearly

is a reset aiming to stop irrational actions rather than just regain focus
to clear one's head
vsto give one's head a shake
1 3.9

To stop thinking about upsetting or confusing thoughts to feel calmer

is a reset focused on stopping irrational thinking rather than simple calm
to clear someone's mind
vsto give one's head a shake
1 3.7

To stop worrying and think calmly to focus

is a reset that specifically stops unreasonable thinking or behaviour
to refresh my mind
vsto give one's head a shake
1 3.4

To clear your head after feeling tired or distracted

is a stronger reconsideration to stop irrational choices rather than mild refresh
to give your head a wobble
vsto give one's head a shake
  • Australian
9.9

Tell someone to think again because they are not being reasonable

is a mental reset to reconsider and stop acting irrationally

Antonyms

to persist
62 3.7

To keep doing something or keep holding a belief despite difficulty

How Clear-headed

to come to one's senses
  • Informal
46 4.4
to pull oneself together
  • Informal
81 5.1
to give one's head a shake
  • Informal
8.6
to reconsider
227 3.7
to snap
151 4.0

Surface Forms

give one's head a shake infinitive
giving one's head a shake present participle
gives one's head a shake third person singular
gave one's head a shake past
given one's head a shake past participle

Morphology

give + one + head + a + shake

The constituent words literally describe physically shaking one’s head and 'shake' includes senses of disturbing or jolting, so a learner could plausibly infer a sense of jarring oneself mentally. However, the specific idiomatic meaning 'mentally reset/reconsider' is a metaphorical extension and not fully predictable from the parts, so it requires some prior exposure or pragmatic knowledge.

Etymology

Give one's head a shake comes from the image of someone quickly moving their head with a small shake to try to clear a confused thought. That's why it now means 'think more clearly' or 'stop acting or worrying in a silly way'.