awaken
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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awakens,
present (3rd person singular)
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awakened,
past participle, past
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awakening
present participle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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awakensimple
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awakenssimple
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have awakenedperfect
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has awakenedperfect
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am awakeningprogressive
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are awakeningprogressive
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is awakeningprogressive
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have been awakeningperfect progressive
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has been awakeningperfect progressive
Past
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awakenedsimple
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had awakenedperfect
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was awakeningprogressive
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were awakeningprogressive
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had been awakeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of awaken
before 900; Middle English awak ( e ) nen, Old English awæcnian earlier onwæcnian. See a- 1, waken
Explanation
To awaken someone is to wake them up. You might awaken your roommate accidentally by practicing your tap dance routine in the kitchen. You can awaken another person, and a noise or the smell of pancakes or a scary dream can all awaken you from a deep sleep. You can also use the verb awaken to describe what happens when you wake from sleep: "I awaken every morning with my pillow on the floor." A more figurative way to awaken is to arouse a certain feeling or awareness. For example, a sad movie can awaken melancholy feelings in the most cheerful person.
Vocabulary lists containing awaken
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.
See Examples For:
"Some officials in the United States still have yet to awaken from their escapist and anachronistic dream," she said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026
"I knew we were a sleeping giant that we needed to awaken in some way."
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Brown kiwis have been reintroduced to a “newly stoat-free Wellington suburb,” where residents now awaken every morning to the screeches and songs of native parrots, pigeons and tuis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
Here we are, 11 years later, still living in the surreality we first experienced on that day — like a nightmare from which we can’t awaken.
From Salon ● Apr. 21, 2026
Did the magic awaken because he was near?
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
The 12-year-old student council member spoke about how the shofar, the ram’s horn blown during High Holy Days, awakens Jews to reflect on and reaffirm their beliefs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
"We used to think of the time before the genome awakens as a period of chaos," explains Noura Maziak, lead author of the study.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 27, 2026
"But when someone encounters us... when our message touches something deep within them, when it awakens the peace that has always lived quietly in their own heart -- something sacred begins to unfold."
From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026
Our dogs should be eating “real” food, they say, ideally raw meat—an “ancestral diet” that awakens their inner wolf.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
Excited at discovering this, he cries out with joy so that his wife awakens.
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
Chaos erupted, sleeping soldiers were awakened and some ended up designated as dead, the Danish commander said with evident satisfaction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
"By putting your own life on the line, you awakened the conscience of an entire nation," Dipke, 30, said in a social media post, referring to Wangchuk.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Without realizing it, Kevin O’Leary may have awakened a new political uprising in Utah—one that could come back to bite the very lawmakers he partnered with for his latest moneymaking venture.
From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2026
Even stranger was the beeping that awakened Lassiter one morning.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
That night, Dicey was awakened by thunder roaring about the house.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
“In my mind, that was the great awakening nationally for private label,” Volpe said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
“Steve is in for a very rude awakening, and the fact that he can’t see it coming just shows how little he understands the job he’s asking for.“
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
If the Tisza majority expects Baka to be a tame president, they may get a rude awakening.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Now, when people who leased an EV come into their dealership hoping for another, they have been in for a rude awakening, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
They’re going to have a rude awakening anyway because they’re headed next door to Mrs. Franklin’s house, and she doesn’t like when people come by unannounced.
From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
