awakening
Americanadjective
noun
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the act of awaking from sleep.
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a revival of interest or attention.
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a recognition, realization, or coming into awareness of something.
a rude awakening to the disagreeable facts.
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a renewal of interest in religion, especially in a community; a revival.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of awakening
Explanation
An awakening is the act of waking up from sleep. It can also refer to other forms of new or sudden consciousness. When you've been asleep, whether at night or during a nap, you wake up and regain consciousness. This is known as an awakening. However, this word is often used for more dramatic things than getting out of bed. Having a religious epiphany is an awakening. Deciding to get married could be considered an awakening. Any time you realize or accept something important and life-changing, it can be called an awakening, because it's almost like you were asleep before.
Vocabulary lists containing awakening
May the 4th Be With You: Star Wars Words
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myPerspectives 8.1
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"The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century," Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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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.
However, the new campaign will begin with her awakening in a strange realm after her funeral which, according to PlayStation, is the start of "a new adventure".
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
Rasputin is in fact an ex-Green Beret from Buffalo, N.Y., named Patrick, but he had a religious awakening and now claims to be the reincarnated spirit of the notorious Russian mystic.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
“So I’m really hoping we can have an awakening as Californians that these riparian habitats need to be restored and respected because they are rare.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
Natural disasters are inevitable, but often, the most devastating slumber for decades, sometimes centuries, only awakening when provoked.
From Salon • Mar. 20, 2026
He was left, upon awakening, with the feeling that he wanted, even somehow needed, to reach the something that waited in the distance.
From "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
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.
