awaken

[uh-wey-kuh n]

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verb (used with or without object)

to awake; waken.

Origin of awaken

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

Related formsa·wak·en·a·ble, adjectivea·wak·en·er, nounre·a·wak·en, verbwell-a·wak·ened, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for reawaken

rouse, rejuvenate, enliven, arouse, awaken, rekindle, restore, repair, strengthen, relieve, brighten, renovate, revitalize, rally, resuscitate, animate, recover, quicken, console, solace

Examples from the Web for reawaken

Contemporary Examples of reawaken

When Mercury hits Virgo, on Friday, it will reawaken dormant conflicts with loved ones.
Your Week: What the Stars Hold
Starsky + Cox
September 4, 2011
You just might reawaken their dreams or even one of your own, and one day when you least expect it, you will dream big again.
Death of the American Dream?
Rabbi Sherre Hirsch
January 8, 2011

Historical Examples of reawaken

The only thing that keeps me sane is the hope that we may reawaken them.
The End of Time
Wallace West
In vain did Gustave try to reawaken the ardor of his partisans.
The Catholic World; Vol. IV.; October, 1866, to March, 1867.
E. Rameur
Her father had vanished and there was even yet nothing in that to reawaken the pang of loss.
What Maisie Knew
Henry James
The world, her own social world, seemed all at once to reawaken before her.
Petticoat Rule
Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Orczy
Then came new experiences to reawaken the slumbering vision.
Romain Rolland
Stefan Zweig

British Dictionary definitions for reawaken

reawaken

verb

to emerge or rouse from sleep

to become or make aware of (something) again

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for reawaken

awaken

Old English awæcnan (intransitive), "to spring into being, arise, originate," also, less often, "to wake up;" earlier onwæcnan, from a- (1) "on" + wæcnan (see waken). Transitive meaning "to rouse from sleep" is recorded from 1510s; figurative sense of "to stir up, rouse to activity" is from c.1600.

Originally strong declension (past tense awoc, past participle awacen), already in Old English it was confused with awake (v.) and a weak past tense awæcnede (modern awakened) emerged and has since become the accepted form, with awoke and awoken transferred to awake. Subtle shades of distinction determine the use of awake or awaken in modern English. Related: Awakening.