awaken

[uh-wey-kuhn]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to awake; waken.

Other Word Forms

• awakenable adjective
• awakener noun
• reawaken verb
• well-awakened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of awaken¹

before 900; Middle English awak ( e ) nen, Old English awæcnian earlier onwæcnian. See a- ¹, waken

Example Sentences

The Incorrigible children hugged the fortune-teller and danced in and out of her countless billowing scarves as they caught the puffs of steam from the awakening locomotive like so many wind-filled sails.

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If the change is unpleasant, it is “a rude awakening.”

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Glinda meanwhile has become the poster girl of the Wizard's regime -- a position that brings her privilege and popularity, but also awakens guilt and shame, stemming from her childhood.

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Jocelyn Sanchez had “an awakening” when she turned 30 last year.

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Khawaja Asif, the defence minister, said of the resignations "their conscience has awakened because their monopoly on the Supreme Court has been curbed and Parliament has tried to prove the supremacy of the Constitution".

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Related Words

• arouse 
• awake 
• excite 
• provoke 
• revive 
• rouse 
• wake