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definitions

rouse

1
[ rouz ]
/ raʊz /
||
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verb (used with object), roused, rous·ing.

verb (used without object), roused, rous·ing.

to come out of a state of sleep, unconsciousness, inactivity, apathy, depression, etc.
to start up from a covert or lair, as game.

noun

a rousing.
a signal for rousing; reveille.

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RELATED WORDS

arouse, awake, awaken, stir, disturb, provoke, trigger, incite, rile, agitate, inflame, startle, heighten, galvanize, kindle, rise, call, raise, urge, move

Nearby words

  1. rous,
  2. rous sarcoma,
  3. rous sarcoma virus,
  4. rous, francis peyton,
  5. rous-associated virus,
  6. rouseabout,
  7. rousedness,
  8. rouser,
  9. rousing,
  10. rousingly

Origin of rouse

1
1480–90 in sense “(of a hawk) to shake the feathers”; 1525–35 for def 3; origin uncertain
Related formsrous·ed·ness [rou-zid-nis] /ˈraʊ zɪd nɪs/, nounrous·er, nounun·roused, adjective

Synonym study

1, 2. See incite.

Definition for rouse (2 of 2)

rouse

2
[ rouz ]
/ raʊz /

noun

Archaic. a carouse.
Obsolete. a bumper of liquor.

Origin of rouse

2
1595–1605; perhaps variant of carouse (drink carouse being wrongly analyzed as drink a rouse)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rouse

British Dictionary definitions for rouse (1 of 2)

rouse

1
/ (raʊz) /

verb

noun

mainly US another term for reveille
Derived Formsrousedness (ˈraʊzɪdnɪs), noun

Word Origin for rouse

C15 (in sense 5): origin obscure

British Dictionary definitions for rouse (2 of 2)

rouse

2
/ (raʊz) /

noun archaic

an alcoholic drink, esp a full measure
another word for carousal

Word Origin for rouse

C17: probably a variant of carouse (as in the phrase drink a rouse, erroneous for drink carouse); compare Danish drikke en rus to become drunk, German Rausch drunkenness
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 rouse

rouse

v.

mid-15c., intransitive probably from Anglo-French or Old French reuser, ruser, originally used in English of hawks shaking the feathers of the body, but like many hawking terms it is of obscure origin. Figurative meaning "to stir up, provoke to activity" is from 1580s; that of "awaken" is first recorded 1590s. Related: Roused; rousing.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper