rouse1
[rouz]
- to bring out of a state of sleep, unconsciousness, inactivity, fancied security, apathy, depression, etc.: He was roused to action by courageous words.
- to stir or incite to strong indignation or anger.
- to cause (game) to start from a covert or lair.
- Nautical. to pull by main strength; haul.
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- to come out of a state of sleep, unconsciousness, inactivity, apathy, depression, etc.
- to start up from a covert or lair, as game.
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- a rousing.
- a signal for rousing; reveille.
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Origin of rouse1
1480–90 in sense “(of a hawk) to shake the feathers”; 1525–35 for def 3; origin uncertain
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comSynonym study
1, 2. See incite.
Antonyms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
arouseawakeawakenstirdisturbprovoketriggerinciterileagitateinflamestartleheightengalvanizekindlerisecallraiseurgemoveExamples from the Web for roused
Contemporary Examples
The kneeling nuns, roused from their devout abstraction, made their reverence and went away.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the ShowRobert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014
He tried to calm me, but I was roused at last, and drawing my long knife barred his way.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the ShowRobert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014
Our president was roused to speak out against guns by the massacre of 20 youngsters at Sandy Hook.
He no doubt could have been roused to fury if a real kafir contributed to his younger brother preferring a-h-h-h-h to Allah.
Whether or not that signaled a higher-profile return to politics, it was a good exit line that roused the CPAC crowd.
Historical Examples
She never heard the end of the story, but was roused by the laughter that followed it.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
She started suddenly awake, seeming to have been roused by the opening of a door.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
She roused every fevered nerve to do battle with the strong man for his son.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
In the meantime he will go home, and not a suspicion will be roused.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
But, what roused him in violent resentment only appealed to Sidney's curiosity.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
rouse1
- to bring (oneself or another person) out of sleep, unconsciousness, etc, or (of a person) to come to consciousness in this way
- (tr) to provoke, stir, or exciteto rouse someone's anger
- rouse oneself to become active or energetic
- hunting to start or cause to start from coverto rouse game birds
- (intr) falconry (of hawks) to ruffle the feathers and cause them to stand briefly on end (a sign of contentment)
- (raʊs) (intr foll by on) Australian to speak scoldingly or rebukingly (to)
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- mainly US another term for reveille
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Word Origin
C15 (in sense 5): origin obscure
rouse2
- an alcoholic drink, esp a full measure
- another word for carousal
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Word Origin
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 roused
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper