awaken
Americanverb (used with or without object)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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awakensimple
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awakenssimple
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have awakenedperfect
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has awakenedperfect
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am awakeningprogressive
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are awakeningprogressive
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is awakeningprogressive
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have been awakeningperfect progressive
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has been awakeningperfect progressive
Past
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awakenedsimple
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had awakenedperfect
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was awakeningprogressive
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were awakeningprogressive
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had been awakeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of awaken
before 900; Middle English awak ( e ) nen, Old English awæcnian earlier onwæcnian. See a- 1, waken
Explanation
To awaken someone is to wake them up. You might awaken your roommate accidentally by practicing your tap dance routine in the kitchen. You can awaken another person, and a noise or the smell of pancakes or a scary dream can all awaken you from a deep sleep. You can also use the verb awaken to describe what happens when you wake from sleep: "I awaken every morning with my pillow on the floor." A more figurative way to awaken is to arouse a certain feeling or awareness. For example, a sad movie can awaken melancholy feelings in the most cheerful person.
Vocabulary lists containing awaken
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.
See Examples For:
"Some officials in the United States still have yet to awaken from their escapist and anachronistic dream," she said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026
"I knew we were a sleeping giant that we needed to awaken in some way."
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Daily, she would awaken as early as 5 a.m. to review homework assignments before beginning class at 7 a.m. at Hesperia High.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
Here we are, 11 years later, still living in the surreality we first experienced on that day — like a nightmare from which we can’t awaken.
From Salon ● Apr. 21, 2026
But after several hours, I go anyway, walking in silent sock feet, so as not to awaken the ghosts.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
The illusion awakens him to a new means of looking at “nature and culture, the given and the constructed,” wherein these supposed binaries collapse together and exist simultaneously.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
"We used to think of the time before the genome awakens as a period of chaos," explains Noura Maziak, lead author of the study.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 27, 2026
Glinda meanwhile has become the poster girl of the Wizard's regime -- a position that brings her privilege and popularity, but also awakens guilt and shame, stemming from her childhood.
From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025
There’s a sense of being in a struggle together and the sense that she awakens something in him because he is much more compliant at the beginning of the show.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2025
The first arcana awakens inside me at the sight of it.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
"By putting your own life on the line, you awakened the conscience of an entire nation," Dipke, 30, said in a social media post, referring to Wangchuk.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Without realizing it, Kevin O’Leary may have awakened a new political uprising in Utah—one that could come back to bite the very lawmakers he partnered with for his latest moneymaking venture.
From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2026
Martinez said he was awakened about 3 a.m.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
"He has awakened from an induced coma and is doing well under the circumstances."
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
“You’ve always had that power, child. If your foremothers have done anything, they’ve merely further awakened it.”
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
Ms. Day conveys Gelsomina’s strange existential awakening with a mix of narrative strategies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
"Worrying", "freefall" and "rude awakening" were all bandied around in the immediate aftermath of the club's heaviest ever two-legged European defeat as new boss Wouter Vrankcen's tenure got off to a rocky start.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Love Is My Religion” is a spiritual awakening.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
However, the new campaign will begin with her awakening in a strange realm after her funeral which, according to PlayStation, is the start of "a new adventure".
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
Her head disappears, and I take deep breaths, fending off the sharp stab of pain that comes with every awakening.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
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.
