as in to set off
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for key (up)
Verb
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But instead Lane, then 34, ambushed her — setting off a violent scramble through the residence that left Wilkins unconscious, her fetus cut from her womb.—
Jillian Frankel,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025 -
New Delhi — Around 20 million people in India’s capital woke up on Wednesday breathing the most polluted air of any major city in the world, a day after celebrations for the Diwali festival, during which revelers typically set off fireworks and firecrackers.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Later that century the rising importance of waterborne commerce for Europe’s maritime powers helped motivate efforts to map Earth’s magnetic field.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
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Mosquera had gotten to know the couple, who were in a civil partnership, over a number of years and had been staying with them for about a month prior to the murders, which prosecutors said were motivated by finances.—
Nicole Acosta,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Geomagnetically induced currents—or GICs—surge across Earth’s surface.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
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Long-term effects on other cell types, including fibroblasts, and on innervations and vascularization would need to be considered before considering inducing skin irritation for human applications.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Springsteen was reportedly a frequent visitor on the set of Deliver Me From Nowhere — undoubtedly pumping up the extras, and presumably stressing out the actors.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
27 Oct. 2025
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All of Canada is going to be so pumped up.—
Peter Chawaga,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The study, by the libertarian think tank Cato Institute, found that terrorists motived by extreme slices of right-leaning ideology killed six times more people than those on the other side of the political spectrum between 1975 and Sept. 10, 2025.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
17 Sep. 2025
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Local police have yet to identify either a suspect or motive in the shooting, while the teenager’s friends and family mourn and look for answers.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Its success inspired a wave of canal building in other states, although the economic benefit of these other canals is dubious in retrospect.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
26 Oct. 2025
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The aftermath of that crash inspired her branch of the Brown family tree to reshape the Louisville medical scene.—
Maggie Menderski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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With the sun officially energizing your 10th house of boss moves, Scorpio season puts your ambitions and public persona under the spotlight.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
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If elected, Ford would become Nevada’s first Black governor—a milestone that could energize parts of the Democratic base, but may not be enough to overcome the state’s shifting political dynamics.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The moon activating Neptune puts you in daydream mode.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
26 Oct. 2025
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The fat overload in astrocytes and microglia activates inflammatory pathways.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
26 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Key (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/key%20%28up%29. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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