Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

arousal

American  
[uh-rou-zuhl] / əˈraʊ zəl /

noun

arousals plural
  1. the act or an instance of waking up.

    Arousals occur naturally during sleep and increase with age.

  2. the act of stimulating someone sexually, or the state of being sexually stimulated.

    Some yoga practices improve levels of arousal in sexually unsatisfied women.

  3. 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

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

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.

"Growth hormone not only helps you build your muscle and bones and reduce your fat tissue, but may also have cognitive benefits, promoting your overall arousal level when you wake up," Ding said.

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026

At certain moments, small air puffs increased the animals' arousal level.

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

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

He clearly played basketball in that same optimal range of arousal in which Ron Avery performed.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "arousal" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com