waken

[ wey-kuhn ]
See synonyms for: wakenwakenedwakeningwakens on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to rouse from sleep; wake; awake; awaken.

  2. to rouse from inactivity; stir up or excite; arouse; awaken: to waken the reader's interest.

verb (used without object)
  1. to wake, or become awake; awaken.

Origin of waken

1
before 900; Middle English waknen,Old English wæcnan; cognate with Old Norse vakna; akin to wake1; see -en1

Other words from waken

  • wak·en·er, noun
  • re·wak·en, verb
  • un·wak·ened, adjective

Words Nearby waken

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use waken in a sentence

  • Drink, and go to sleep—sleep so sound that you waken only when Moukir and Nakir, the death angels, sift soul from body.

    God Wills It! | William Stearns Davis
  • The servant, who carried her breakfast, reported her asleep, and the careful mother would not let them waken her.

    Alone | Marion Harland
  • Humphrey and Pablo both set off, and then Edward went to waken the boy, still lying on the bed.

  • A conscience that had overslept itself began to stir and waken.

    Quin | Alice Hegan Rice
  • "Death must come to all," some one would waken up to murmur.

    Auld Licht Idylls | J. M. Barrie

British Dictionary definitions for waken

waken

/ (ˈweɪkən) /


verb
  1. to rouse or be roused from sleep or some other inactive state

waken

See wake 1

Derived forms of waken

  • wakener, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012