rousing

[rou-zing]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rousing ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

exciting; stirring: a rousing song.

active or vigorous: a rousing campaign.

brisk; lively: a rousing business.

exceptional; extraordinary: a rousing lie.

Origin of rousing

First recorded in 1635–45; rouse¹ + -ing²

Related formsrous·ing·ly, adverbnon·rous·ing, adjectiveun·rous·ing, adjective

rouse

[rouz]

verb (used with object), roused, rous·ing.

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.

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.

Origin of rouse

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

Synonyms for rouse

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rouse ON THESAURUS.COM

1. arouse, stir, excite, animate, stimulate, awaken, kindle, inflame, fire. 2. provoke, anger.

Synonym study

1, 2. See incite.

Antonyms for rouse

1, 2. lull, calm, pacify.

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

Related Words for rousing

zippy, enthusiastic, spirited, bouncy, lively, chirpy, busy, refreshing, brisk, alert, dashing, active, animated, stimulating, bustling, buzzing, astir, bright, buoyant, energetic

Examples from the Web for rousing

Contemporary Examples of rousing

Because it is not the rousing King we expect, we are disappointed.
Martin Luther King’s Nobel Speech Is an Often Ignored Masterpiece
Malcolm Jones
October 16, 2014
But you must have gotten a sense of the rousing response Max was met with in the gay community.
How 'The Mindy Project' Star Adam Pally Became Hollywood's Go-To 'Bro'
Kevin Fallon
August 6, 2014
After “Who Gon Stop Me,” the two join each other onstage for a rousing rendition of “Otis,” the Otis Redding-sampling rap ballad.
Jay Z and Kanye West Deliver the Mother of All Performances at SXSW
Marlow Stern
March 13, 2014
This is met by a rousing round of applause and knowing nods.
Backstage at the Razzie Awards, Honoring Hollywood’s Worst Films
David Eckstein
March 2, 2014
The rousing response to that from fans in attendance: who friggin cares?
Britney Spears’s Vegas Show Is a Big Fat Hit, Obviously
Kevin Fallon
December 28, 2013

Historical Examples of rousing

The boy, rousing for an instant, would lapse again into stupor.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
As she left for her state-room, a rousing cheer was heard from on deck.
A Woman Intervenes
Robert Barr
He was rousing the dissenters against the Church school of the estate.
The Coryston Family
Mrs. Humphry Ward
It is not only the existence of war that is rousing the conscience.
Mountain Meditations
L. Lind-af-Hageby
She was on the point of rousing Etienne and of carrying him there in her arms.
L'Assommoir
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for rousing

rousing

adjective

tending to rouse or excite; lively, brisk, or vigorousa rousing chorus

Derived Formsrousingly, adverb

rouse

verb

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)

noun

mainly US another term for reveille

Derived Formsrousedness (ˈraʊzɪdnɪs), noun

Word Origin for rouse

C15 (in sense 5): origin obscure

rouse

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 rousing

rouse

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.