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het up

het up

1 9.9
Feeling very upset or angry about something
  • idiom
  • UK
translation icon : agitado
  • He was so het up after the argument that he couldn't sleep all night.
  • get het up
  • so het up

Examples

  • Now, listen, tiger, don't get all het up.

  • "Why are you so het up, boys?

    Fiction book (1993)
  • I never saw him that het up.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Only you get all het-up.

  • What's she so het up about?

  • "Well, I don't know what you're so het up about," I told her.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • There's no need to get het up over a minor mistake in the presentation.

  • She tends to get het up whenever politics comes up in conversation.

Synonyms

excited
vshet up
1.0

Feeling very happy and eager about something

also includes anger or upset, not just positive eagerness
mad
vshet up
138 1.3

Very excited and unable to stay calm

is informal but usually means agitated without implying total loss of control
agitated
vshet up
49 4.1

Feeling nervous, upset, and not calm

also includes anger and informal upset rather than only anxiety
worked up
vshet up
  • Informal
33 6.5

Very upset or nervous because of strong feelings

is informal and expresses those emotions with less intensity
hot and bothered
vshet up
  • Informal
2 7.0

Feeling nervous and upset because of stress or embarrassment

is informal and covers agitation from anger as well as stress or excitement
5.3

Very excited and unable to stay calm

is informal and can cover anger or milder agitation rather than only thrill
mad as hops
vshet up
  • Archaic
9.9

Feeling very angry and showing it

is informal and can mean general agitation or excitement as well as anger
in a hyp mood
vshet up
  • Neologism
9.9

Feeling very energetic and excited

is informal and covers agitated feelings including anger, not only high energy

Antonyms

735 1.0

Not showing strong feelings and being very still

1 4.3

Calm and in control of your feelings during stress

1 3.7

Calm and not showing strong feeling

How Agitated

furious
238 3.0
angry
1.0
worked up
  • Informal
33 6.5
het up
  • UK
1 9.9
upset
1.0
uneasy
98 3.2

Surface Forms

het up positive

Morphology

het + up

The meaning follows directly from combining 'het' (heated/agitates) with the particle 'up' (to increase/intensify): together they denote an intensified emotional state. Although informal and regionally marked, the adjective + up intensifier pattern is productive and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Het up likely comes from an old form het meaning 'hot' or 'heated'. Imagine someone feeling hot inside and their feelings rising up, so het up now means 'upset' or 'angry'.