awake
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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to wake up; rouse from sleep.
I awoke at six with a feeling of dread.
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to rouse to action; become active.
His flagging interest awoke.
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to come or bring to an awareness; become cognizant (often followed byto ).
She awoke to the realities of life.
adjective
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waking; not sleeping.
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vigilant; alert.
They were awake to the danger.
verb
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to emerge or rouse from sleep; wake
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to become or cause to become alert
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(usually foll by to) to become or make aware (of)
to awake to reality
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Also: awaken. (tr) to arouse (feelings, etc) or cause to remember (memories, etc)
adjective
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not sleeping
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(sometimes foll by to) lively or alert
Other Word Forms
- awakeable adjective
- half-awake adjective
- reawake verb
- unawake adjective
- unawakeable adjective
- unawaked adjective
- unawaking adjective
Etymology
Origin of awake
First recorded before 1000; Middle English awaken, Old English awacen, past participle of awæcnan; a 1, waken
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.
But he told AFP he still wakes up sometimes in the middle of the night "wide awake thinking about this piece."
From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026
Every time I passed that corner I thought about it, how this life was dripping away whether we were awake inside it or not.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
If you ask an AI, “What energy drink will keep me awake all night so I can finish this report?” it will likely recommend a pantry’s worth of caffeine-laden soft drinks, never questioning the plan.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026
"Of course, I was awake until 3 am."
From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026
Some days, Bat was the first person awake.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
Definitions 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.
