secouer

to shake

verb suh-KOO-eh Less Common

Also means

to jolt, to unsettle

Usage Note

Secouer is used both literally (shaking a bottle, a rug, or a person) and figuratively: ça m'a secoué means 'it shook me up'. Secouer les puces à quelqu'un ('to shake the fleas off someone') is a vivid idiom meaning 'to give someone a good telling-off'. Se secouer means 'to pull oneself together'.

Examples

"Il a secoué la bouteille avant de l'ouvrir."

Natural Translation

He shook the bottle before opening it.

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