rouse
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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rouses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
roused,
past participle, past
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rousing
present participle
-
to bring out of a state of sleep, unconsciousness, inactivity, fancied security, apathy, depression, etc..
He was roused to action by courageous words.
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to stir or incite to strong indignation or anger.
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to cause (game) to start from a covert or lair.
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Nautical Now Rare. to pull by main strength; haul.
verb (used without object)
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rouses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
roused,
past participle, past
-
rousing
present participle
-
to come out of a state of sleep, unconsciousness, inactivity, apathy, depression, etc.
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to start up from a covert or lair, as game.
noun
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a rousing.
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a signal for rousing; reveille.
noun
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Archaic. a carouse.
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Obsolete. a bumper of liquor.
verb
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to bring (oneself or another person) out of sleep, unconsciousness, etc, or (of a person) to come to consciousness in this way
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(tr) to provoke, stir, or excite
to rouse someone's anger
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to become active or energetic
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hunting to start or cause to start from cover
to rouse game birds
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(intr) falconry (of hawks) to ruffle the feathers and cause them to stand briefly on end (a sign of contentment)
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to speak scoldingly or rebukingly (to)
noun
noun
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an alcoholic drink, esp a full measure
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another word for carousal
Synonym Usage
See incite.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rousesimple
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rousessimple
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have rousedperfect
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has rousedperfect
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am rousingprogressive
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are rousingprogressive
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is rousingprogressive
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have been rousingperfect progressive
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has been rousingperfect progressive
Past
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rousedsimple
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had rousedperfect
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was rousingprogressive
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were rousingprogressive
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had been rousingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rouse1
First recorded in 1425–75 in sense “(of a hawk) to shake the feathers”; 1525–35 rouse 1 for def. 3; origin uncertain
Origin of rouse2
First recorded in 1590–1600; perhaps variant of carouse ( drink carouse being wrongly analyzed as drink a rouse )
Explanation
When someone calls out "rise and shine," they are trying to rouse you, to make you wake up. It's thought that the word rouse was originally a 15th-century term used by hawkers for the way the birds shook out their feathers when agitated. That gives a nice mental picture to the word, and it does fit: rouse means to become awake, excited, or just plain keyed up, like those birds ruffling their feathers. Consider that when first roused in the morning, many people have to shake themselves to get ready to face the day.
Vocabulary lists containing rouse
The Best Starting Words for Wordle
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act IV
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Native Son
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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.
See Examples For:
However, this team has shown their ability to rouse themselves, and ultimately they got the job done here.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
These alarm clocks have novel ways to rouse deep sleepers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026
The 40-year-old Wawrinka must try and rouse himself on his Australian Open farewell after a gruelling five-set win in round two.
From Barron's ● Jan. 24, 2026
Their popularity spread through Europe until, in Victorian tradition, they were used to rouse ladies after fainting spells.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 12, 2026
Jonathan went to the boy and gently tried to rouse him.
From "The Fighting Ground" by Avi
January is an odd month in the art world, as it rouses itself from its holiday slumber but struggles to shake off the sleepiness of the past month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
In Ridley Scott’s 1979 film “Alien,” the crew of the Nostromo rouses from slumber to answer a distress call that spells their doom.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2025
For Israelis, it is one that rouses the past and raises existential questions many are unable to fathom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2023
We admire Zelenskyy because he rouses the better angels of our nature.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 22, 2022
Gray light is leaking through the curtains when the rapping rouses me.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
It seems that much of the Western world is waking up, roused by that sonorous noise that they just can’t seem to shake.
From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2026
That will be a persistent tension as cooperation gears up and it has already roused some Canadian domestic opposition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Tuchel roused himself enough to provide a passionate defence of his efforts during the late capitulation against Argentina.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
According to The New York Times, Hellerstein was seen falling asleep during a trial last year and needed to be roused by his colleagues.
From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026
There, I was roused by Mr. Pumblechook’s hailing me.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
The latter seemingly bought into some of the era’s storylines and ringside magic, believing that a rousing speech to the wrestlers in the locker room would convince them to strike.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
This rousing statement was also, naturally, a self-aware business pitch.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026
After a rousing performance by a white-robe clad vocal collective co-founded by Pharrell Williams, Lucas’ wife Mellody Hobson noted that, “George kept saying, ‘Will this person come?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
We are all of us, in short, “Musical Bodies,” the title and subject of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s rousing exhibition celebrating the creative and aesthetic realm where music, art, and global cultures meet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Poems were too close to prayer, rousing regrettable passions.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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.
