as in worried
feeling or showing uncomfortable feelings of uncertainty
it won't do you any good to get all het up before the tryouts and lose sleep
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of het up
As for the airport tray aesthetic, while people might be getting het up at the idea of Gen Z holding up the line for some navel-gazing, the US Transport Security Administration is sanguine about the risk.
—
Maureen O'Hare, CNN, 8 Sep. 2024
So why has the Chanel version gotten people so het up?
—New York Times, 6 Dec. 2021
Something about unfolding Bennifer events, this rekindling of an old flame, has got all of us het up.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 16 June 2021
In a normal December, people would be more concerned with the holidays and a busy schedule and wouldn't get this het up with Congress.
—Arkansas Online, 28 Dec. 2020
Cultural appropriation is one of the issues that gets hft most het up.
—Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2020
Looking at the schedule for London, which kicks off tomorrow, there’s a pretty meaningful amount of exciting menswear action to get het up about.
—Luke Leitch, Vogue, 3 Jan. 2019
Open to charges of sacrilege, though interestingly the digital watchdogs of this world seemed too busy picking their collective jaws up off the floor in amazement to get het up about it.
—New York Times, 8 May 2018
Maureen O'Hare, CNN, 8 Sep. 2024
So why has the Chanel version gotten people so het up?
—New York Times, 6 Dec. 2021
Something about unfolding Bennifer events, this rekindling of an old flame, has got all of us het up.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 16 June 2021
In a normal December, people would be more concerned with the holidays and a busy schedule and wouldn't get this het up with Congress.
—Arkansas Online, 28 Dec. 2020
Cultural appropriation is one of the issues that gets hft most het up.
—Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2020
Looking at the schedule for London, which kicks off tomorrow, there’s a pretty meaningful amount of exciting menswear action to get het up about.
—Luke Leitch, Vogue, 3 Jan. 2019
Open to charges of sacrilege, though interestingly the digital watchdogs of this world seemed too busy picking their collective jaws up off the floor in amazement to get het up about it.
—New York Times, 8 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for het up
Adjective
-
Many tourism leaders in gateway towns near them are worried tourists will start going elsewhere if the park experience or its environment gets eroded.—
Kirk Siegler,
NPR,
24 July 2025
-
As an interior and environment appropriations bill makes its way through Congress, activists are worried about its impacts, including on coal ash regulations.—
Maya Wilkins,
Chicago Tribune,
23 July 2025
Adjective
-
Cafu, on the other hand, will be entering the ring with plenty of confidence and hunger, knowing that an upset win could change his life and put him at the center of the super flyweight spotlight.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 July 2025
-
But that type of upset remains an exception, argues Litman, who says there were a handful of factors that made Foxx's race in Arizona a very different playing field.—
Elena Moore,
NPR,
18 July 2025
Adjective
-
With Iran and its proxies diminished and Gulf states anxious to diversify their economies, any prospect for broader peace and normalization runs through Riyadh.—
Edward Felsenthal,
Time,
23 July 2025
-
This is their first major sit-down interview together, and both are a bit anxious.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
23 July 2025
Adjective
-
Joe Mazur, senior analyst at Trivium China, a research and advisory firm, said the use of exit bans and the lack of clarity around specific cases will make foreign companies extremely nervous about sending staff to China, damaging overall business confidence.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
23 July 2025
-
All 11 brought home at least one full point in Rome, the result of their talent but also of a cohesive approach where veteran Justin Rose was willing to be paired with nervous rookie Robert MacIntyre in fourball and sit the foursomes sessions.—
Brody Miller,
New York Times,
23 July 2025
Adjective
-
In her mind, the community in her fictional story should be one of privilege, a circumstance in which Ruth, who grew up in a working-class Yiddish family, could initially feel ill at ease.—
Esther Zuckerman,
Los Angeles Times,
25 June 2025
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The young man may be introverted or otherwise socially ill at ease.—
Harriette Cole,
Mercury News,
29 May 2025
Adjective
-
Pico’s other headsets are not sold in North America and ByteDance and the Trump administration have an uneasy relationship at best.—
Chris Morris,
Fortune,
15 July 2025
-
The carpenters’ stance has created a split in the labor movement that makes lawmakers uneasy and sometimes spills into public view.—
CalMatters,
Mercury News,
13 July 2025
Adjective
-
Son of Liam’s Map was a troubled sixth in the Kentucky Derby and a closing second in the Matt Winn Stakes in his last start.—
Danny Brewer,
Forbes.com,
16 July 2025
-
Bell is among at least 34 boys who stayed at Dozier and another 16 sent to Okeechobee — a separate boys’ school with a troubled history — who ended up on Florida’s death row, according to a review by The Marshall Project.—
The Marshall Project,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Het up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/het%20up. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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