awake

[ uh-weyk ]
See synonyms for: awakeawokenawoke on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with or without object),a·woke [uh-wohk] /əˈwoʊk/ or a·waked, a·woke or a·waked or a·wo·ken [uh-woh-kuhn], /əˈwoʊ kən/, a·wak·ing.
  1. to wake up; rouse from sleep: I awoke at six with a feeling of dread.

  2. to rouse to action; become active: His flagging interest awoke.

  1. to come or bring to an awareness; become cognizant (often followed by to): She awoke to the realities of life.

adjective
  1. waking; not sleeping.

  2. vigilant; alert: They were awake to the danger.

Origin of awake

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English awaken, Old English awacen, past participle of awæcnan; see a1, waken

Other words from awake

  • a·wake·a·ble, adjective
  • half-a·wake, adjective
  • re·a·wake, verb, re·a·woke or re·a·waked, re·a·wak·ing.
  • un·a·wake, adjective
  • un·a·wake·a·ble, adjective
  • un·a·waked, adjective
  • un·a·wak·ing, adjective

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

How to use awake in a sentence

  • Awaking the next day, it hardly matters to my life that another victory will have to await next season.

    Who Cares What Tiger Did? | Conor Friedersdorf | November 28, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • It may be that I became unconscious: certainly I had the sensation of awaking to the light of day after an interval of darkness.

    A Thin Ghost and Others | M. R. (Montague Rhodes) James
  • The laity are awaking to the fact that priests are strenuously endeavouring to quench the light of reason in the fogs of faith.

  • She had that quiet assurance of a woman who is sure of herself, who feels that on awaking she is in her full beauty and freshness.

  • On somewhat suddenly awaking, after a sleep of whose length he had no idea, Oak found that the waggon was in motion.

  • Then, upon awaking, the first act of the rancher was to ascertain his bearings, so far as it was possible to do so.

    The Young Ranchers | Edward S. Ellis

British Dictionary definitions for awake

awake

/ (əˈweɪk) /


verbawakes, awaking, awoke, awaked, awoken or awaked
  1. to emerge or rouse from sleep; wake

  2. to become or cause to become alert

  1. (usually foll by to) to become or make aware (of): to awake to reality

  2. Also: awaken (tr) to arouse (feelings, etc) or cause to remember (memories, etc)

adjective(postpositive)
  1. not sleeping

  2. (sometimes foll by to) lively or alert

Origin of awake

1
Old English awacian, awacan; see wake 1

awake

See wake 1

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