awaken

[ uh-wey-kuhn ]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to awake; waken.

Other Words From

• a·waken·a·ble adjective
• a·waken·er noun
• rea·waken verb
• well-a·wakened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of awaken¹

before 900; Middle English awak ( e ) nen, Old English awæcnian earlier onwæcnian. See a- ¹, waken

Example Sentences

As I wrote in the original "cat lady" column, many women are slowly awakening to the fact that they hold more cards in their romantic hands than they've been previously allowed to see.

From Salon

It wasn’t until I became a parent while living in New York that I became fully awakened to the upsides and downsides of raising a child in a major city.

From Los Angeles Times

The latter group is going to be in for a painful, literally, awakening when and if Trump and his regime take power.

From Salon

“Trump is the nightmare from which we can never awaken,” Bekkala told me.

From Los Angeles Times

“Religious America is awakening, perhaps just in time for our country’s sake,” Reagan told a teeming crowd of evangelical voters in August 1980.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• arouse
• awake
• excite
• provoke
• revive
• rouse
• wake