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Glite Dictionary
to upheave

to upheave

8.5
To lift something from below with strong force, often breaking the ground
  • verb
  • /ʌpˈhiːv/
translation icon : elevar
  • Heavy machinery is needed to upheave the large boulders blocking the road.

But then if those children find out down the road, like everyone's life, everyone's life is so upheaved.

Examples

  • The storm's powerful winds seemed to upheave the whole landscape, uprooting trees and tossing debris.

  • I will not allow that menace to humanity to upheave our family again.

    Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

  • At least someone's life hasn't been upheaved.

    Beetlejuice (1988)

  • I really hope I am wrong on this, but I do see a strong possibility that the GOP has marginalized itself to a degree where the two-party system is upheaving again, as it has at least twice.

    Blog text (2)

  • The earthquake caused the ground to upheave, leaving cracks in the pavement.

Synonyms

to shake up
vsto upheave
41 4.2

To upset someone strongly and change how they feel

lifts forcefully from beneath and causes physical disruption

Antonyms

to lower
802 1.0

Make something go down in position, amount, or strength

How Forceful

to uproot
38 4.4
to upheave
8.5
to heave
35 3.9
raise
4 2.9
to lift
553 1.0

Surface Forms

upheave infinitive
upheaved past
upheaved past participle
upheaving present participle
upheaves third person singular

Morphology

upheave = heave (semi-transparent) = up + heave

The prefix 'up' suggests direction, but the specific meaning of causing disruption is not immediately clear.

Etymology

The word upheave comes from the parts up- and heave, where heave means 'lift with force' and up- means 'up' or 'from below'. So to upheave something is to push or lift it up from under the surface, often causing big change or damage.