awaken
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
awakens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
awakened,
past participle, past
-
awakening
present participle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
awakensimple
-
awakenssimple
-
have awakenedperfect
-
has awakenedperfect
-
am awakeningprogressive
-
are awakeningprogressive
-
is awakeningprogressive
-
have been awakeningperfect progressive
-
has been awakeningperfect progressive
Past
-
awakenedsimple
-
had awakenedperfect
-
was awakeningprogressive
-
were awakeningprogressive
-
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:
"We believe that Europe can awaken from its long slumber and rekindle the fire that was here millennia ago," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
The greatest danger facing society isn’t that software will awaken and overthrow its human masters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
"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
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
I awaken now on a flat stone floor.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
The way Carrie awakens to her supernatural powers puts her in the realm of today’s young-adult fiction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
“For a lot of investors, this avalanche of supply awakens dark memories of other ebullient markets,” said Giuseppe Sette, co-founder and president of Reflexivity, an AI solutions group focused on the investment industry.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
The morning after giving birth, June awakens in her bed to find her baby gone; Bethel and Beauty are at the kitchen table in tears.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 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
Mutti stays out late dancing with Hugo, and some mornings when Helmuth awakens, Mutti is humming in the kitchen and Hugo is sitting at their table.
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
But banks have already widely reported intense deposit competition and pressure from savers who have been awakened by several years of higher rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
His folk-singer brother first awakened his interest in politics while being "asked to leave" grammar school for "messing about" deepened his dislike of authority.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
“We have awakened so many people, but there’s so many more people to awaken,” Morales said in Spanish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
"By putting your own life on the line, you awakened the conscience of an entire nation," Dipke, 30, said in a social media post.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
The neighbor downstairs had been awakened by the clatter of their shoes on the floor.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
“In my mind, that was the great awakening nationally for private label,” Volpe said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
Like a mass awakening, labels and executives began courting them, making offers that were unimaginable just a few years earlier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Cservenka and OSU colleagues Julia Donner and Alexia Obrochta focused on what is commonly known as CAR, or the cortisol awakening response.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
Now, when people who leased an EV come into their dealership hoping for another, they have been in for a rude awakening, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
The Incorrigible children hugged the fortune-teller and danced in and out of her countless billowing scarves as they caught the puffs of steam from the awakening locomotive like so many wind-filled sails.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
