Synonyms

arousal

American

[uh-rou-zuhl] / əˈraʊ zəl /

noun

the act or an instance of waking up.

Arousals occur naturally during sleep and increase with age.
the act of stimulating someone sexually, or the state of being sexually stimulated.

Some yoga practices improve levels of arousal in sexually unsatisfied women.
the act of stirring up or the state of being stirred up; excitement: Relieving teens from stress in conversations can be a very effective way to prevent the arousal of anger.

Be aware of your level of emotional arousal when making decisions.
Relieving teens from stress in conversations can be a very effective way to prevent the arousal of anger.

Other Word Forms

nonarousal noun
overarousal noun
rearousal noun
semiarousal noun
subarousal noun

Etymology

Origin of arousal

arous(e) ( def. ) + -al ² ( def. )

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.

According to Ährlund-Richter, ACA may help the brain focus on potentially meaningful visual details as arousal rises, while ORB may act to reduce attention to distracting or overly strong stimuli.

From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2025

ORB, however, became influential only when arousal was very high, and its involvement appeared to decrease the clarity of visual encoding.

From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2025

They found that ACA and ORB exerted specific and opposing effects on visual encoding depending on the mouse's movement and level of arousal.

From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2025

As a therapist, I know that for children with autism, water offers resistance, pressure and pleasant sensory arousal.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2025

Are extreme arousal and mind-blindness inevitable under conditions of stress?

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023