woke

[wohk]

verb

1. a simple past tense of wake.

adjective

1. having or marked by an active awareness of systemic injustices and prejudices, especially those involving the treatment of ethnic, racial, or sexual minorities: He took one African American history class and now he thinks he’s woke.

   In light of incidents of police brutality, it’s important to stay woke.

   He took one African American history class and now he thinks he’s woke.

   This generation of kids is trying to make woke choices in life.

2. Disparaging.,  as used by political opponents, of or relating to a liberal progressive orthodoxy.

3. Slang.,  aware of the facts, true situation, etc. (sometimes used facetiously).

   Stay woke—always read a contract before you sign it, and know your rights.

4. awake.

   I had to drink lots of coffee this morning to stay woke.

woke

/ wəʊk /

verb

1. a past tense of wake 1

Other Word Forms

• unwoke adjective
• wokeism noun
• wokism noun
• wokeness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of woke¹

First recorded before 900 as past tense woke ( for def. 1 ); 1960–65 woke ( for defs. 2, 4 ), popularized by the Black civil rights movement and later by Black Lives Matter

Example Sentences

The fashionista continued: "It's not woke to think that someone curvy is beautiful, it's not woke to think someone from another country is beautiful."

From BBC

“Eureka Day” takes its name from the fictional private elementary school in Berkeley that is the setting for what is both a satire of anti-vaccine culture and a comedy of woke manners.

From Los Angeles Times

“Being together woke up our art,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times

Shouting could be heard from the woods as they woke them.

From BBC

He introduced Grok as a safe and truthful alternative to what he accused competitors of building, “woke” chatbots prone to censorship.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• enlightened 
• multiculturally sensitive www.thesaurus.com

When To Use

What else does woke mean?

Woke means being conscious of racial discrimination in society and other forms of oppression and injustice. In mainstream use, woke can also more generally describe someone or something as being "with it."