awake
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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to wake up; rouse from sleep.
I awoke at six with a feeling of dread.
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to rouse to action; become active.
His flagging interest awoke.
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to come or bring to an awareness; become cognizant (often followed byto ).
She awoke to the realities of life.
adjective
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waking; not sleeping.
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vigilant; alert.
They were awake to the danger.
verb
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to emerge or rouse from sleep; wake
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to become or cause to become alert
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(usually foll by to) to become or make aware (of)
to awake to reality
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Also: awaken. (tr) to arouse (feelings, etc) or cause to remember (memories, etc)
adjective
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not sleeping
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(sometimes foll by to) lively or alert
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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unawakedadjective
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half-awakeadjective
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unawakeableadjective
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unawakeadjective
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unawakingadjective
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awakeableadjective
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reawakeverb
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has awokeperfect 3rd person singular
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has awokenperfect 3rd person singular
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have awokenperfect
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have awokeperfect
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has been awakingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are awakingprogressive
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is awakingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been awakingperfect progressive
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am awakingprogressive 1st person singular
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awakingparticiple
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awakessingular 3rd person
Past
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had awokenperfect
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had awokeperfect
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was awakingprogressive singular
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had been awakingperfect progressive
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were awakingprogressive plural
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awokesimple
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awokenparticiple
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awokeparticiple
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awakedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of awake
First recorded before 1000; Middle English awaken, Old English awacen, past participle of awæcnan; see a 1, waken
Explanation
When you're awake, you're conscious and aware of your surroundings. When you're not awake, you're asleep. If you are reading this, you are indeed awake. Most people are awake during the day and asleep at night, but if you work the night shift or suffer from insomnia, you might also be awake at night. When awake is used as a verb, it means "wake up:" "I watched my kitten awake from a deep sleep and yawn." Awake comes from two Old English roots, āwæcnan, "to arise," and āwacian, "to revive."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Arizona-based Awake Window & Door is one client that buys long, angled pieces of aluminum from a Hydro plant in Oregon to make frames for large windows and glass walls used in luxury homes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026
They added that the set-up for Friday's Wide Awake festival was nearly complete.
From BBC • May 19, 2025
The title of King’s sermon was “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution.”
From Washington Post • Mar. 31, 2023
Carhartt WIP and Awake NY link up in the name of form, function and community for the brands’ collaborative SS23 collection.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2023
It is a long drop from the Awake and can happen all at once.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
