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shaken.

Moved rapidly in opposite directions alternatingly.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈʃeɪk(ə)n/Received-Pronunciation/ˈʃeɪkən/General-American
  1. Moved rapidly in opposite directions alternatingly.

  2. Moved rapidly in opposite directions alternatingly. Of a drink, especially (alcoholic beverages) a cocktail: mixed by being agitated with ice in a shaker.

  3. Caused to move (and usually weakened) by a strong force.

    The earthquake led to many shaken buildings and structures.
  4. Of a cask: taken to pieces which are then tied up together for transportation.

    archaic · broadly · obsolete
  5. Of something mined such as coal or ore: broken into pieces.

    broadly
  6. Of timber: damaged from being cracked.

    broadly
  7. Chiefly of a person: having had one's composure or confidence disrupted or upset; in a state of shock or trauma.

    figuratively
    We were left shaken by the revelations of abuse.
  8. Weakened by some event.

    figuratively
Where this word comes from

The verb is derived from Middle English (i)shaken, from (i- (prefix forming past participle forms of verbs)) + shaken (“to tremble, shake; etc.”) + -en (suffix forming past participle forms of verbs). The adjective is derived from the verb. By surface analysis, shake (verb) + -n (a variant of -en (suffix forming past participle forms of verbs; and adjectives)).

noun/ˈʃɑːkɛn/Received-Pronunciation/ˈʃɑkɛn/General-American
  1. A flat shuriken (“dart or throwing blade”) resembling a spiked wheel, as opposed to the longer stick-like kind.

Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Japanese 車剣 (しゃけん, shaken), from 車 (しゃ, sha, “vehicle; wheel”) + 剣 (けん, ken, “sword”).

verb/ˈʃeɪk(ə)n/Received-Pronunciation/ˈʃeɪkən/General-American
  1. past participle of shake

    form-of · participle · past
Where this word comes from

The verb is derived from Middle English (i)shaken, from (i- (prefix forming past participle forms of verbs)) + shaken (“to tremble, shake; etc.”) + -en (suffix forming past participle forms of verbs). The adjective is derived from the verb. By surface analysis, shake (verb) + -n (a variant of -en (suffix forming past participle forms of verbs; and adjectives)).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.