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
Sport mode will awaken a growl in the exhaust pipes but that’s not what pays the SL 680’s bills.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 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
Impassively he stood there against the wall, in the shadow of the flickering candle, seemingly trying to awaken himself from some bad dream, some nightmare.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
This relic of combustion awakens in the morning with the refinement of a coffee grinder, winding at around 3,000 rpm until the catalytic converter heats up and the revs fall back to idle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
“For a lot of investors, this avalanche of supply awakens dark memories of other ebullient markets,” said Giuseppe Sette, co-founder and president of Reflexivity, an AI solutions group focused on the investment industry.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 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
She said she sometimes awakens in the middle of the night, struck by an idea about a rule or statute that might be of use.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2025
“Legend says that lighting the Lamp of Bharata awakens the Sleeper, a demon who will summon Lord Shiva, the fearsome Lord of Destruction, who will dance upon the world and bring an end to Time.”
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
His folk-singer brother first awakened his interest in politics while being "asked to leave" grammar school for "messing about" deepened his dislike of authority.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 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
For Arsenal, it suddenly awakened memories of the club’s only previous trip to this stage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
Some time about mid-morning, Ragear was awakened by the sound of footsteps.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
“In my mind, that was the great awakening nationally for private label,” Volpe said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
Many Americans are likely in for a crude awakening at the fuel pump this Labor Day weekend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Like a mass awakening, labels and executives began courting them, making offers that were unimaginable just a few years earlier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
"Worrying", "freefall" and "rude awakening" were all bandied around in the immediate aftermath of the club's heaviest ever two-legged European defeat as new boss Wouter Vrankcen's tenure got off to a rocky start.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Snowflakes danced in the awakening sky, touching down softly on Hazel’s long black hair.
From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu
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.
