awaken

verb

awak·en | \ ə-ˈwā-kən

awakened; awakening\ ə-ˈwāk-niŋ

, ə-ˈwā-kə- \; awakens

Definition of awaken

: awake He was awakened by a knock at the door. I awakened from a deep sleep. She awakened to the smell of bacon and eggs. news that the long-dormant volcano is now awakening a new generation awakening to the importance of political action Shortly after settling in, she was awakened in the middle of the night by the phone …— Herb Caen The honourable gentleman made a speech which drew tears from the eyes of the ladies, and awakened the liveliest emotions in every individual present.— Charles Dickens That new, different noise we hear is from a giant constituency awakening in our field, and it will get louder. — Library Journal

Other Words from awaken Synonyms & Antonyms The Past Tense Forms of Awake and Awaken More Example Sentences Learn More about awaken

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Other Words from awaken

awakener \ ə-ˈwāk-nər

, ə-ˈwā-kə- \ noun, plural awakeners

Coffee's greatest effects are exerted upon the brain and mind, since coffee is a bracing awakener. — Chris Kilham Order this spicy soup only if you like a real palate awakener. — Karola Saekel

Synonyms & Antonyms for awaken

Synonyms

arouse, awake, knock up [British], rouse, wake, waken

Antonyms

lull

The Past Tense Forms of Awake and Awaken

Awake and awaken are two distinct verbs that mean the same thing. In other words, they're synonyms, and in the present tense they each behave the way English verbs typically behave:

The cat awakes at dawn.

The cat awakens at dawn.

Things get trickier in the past tense.

Our modern verb awake is the result of the long-ago melding of two older verbs. These verbs were very similar, but one had regular past tense forms (like play: played, has played) and the other had irregular past tense forms (like take: took, has taken).

When the two verbs melded into the modern awake (which was a process over many years), things got complicated, resulting ultimately in the following grammatically permissible sentences:

The cat awaked at dawn.

The cat awoke at dawn.

The cat was awaked by the mouse at dawn.

The cat was awoken by the mouse at dawn.

Note, though, that at this point, these are the most common:

The cat awoke at dawn.

The cat was awoken by the mouse at dawn.

That's the story of awake. Fortunately awaken (which was originally one of the past tense forms of awake) is simpler. It's a regular verb, which means it has the usual past tense forms:

The cat awakened at dawn.

The cat was awakened at dawn by a mouse.

As if all this weren't complicated enough, awake is also an adjective:

Because of the cat, I too am now awake.

For a detailed discussion of the history of these words, please see the The Grammatical History of 'Awaken' / 'Awoken' / 'Awakened'.

Examples of awaken in a Sentence

She usually awakens several times during the night. A loud noise awakened her.

Recent Examples on the Web

According to police, the victim was asleep in her apartment when she was awakened by someone rummaging through her belongings. — Loyd Brumfield, Dallas News, "24-year-old man arrested in sexual assault on woman in her Fair Park area apartment," 3 Aug. 2019 The case was still underway when Babbitt was awakened by a phone call early on the morning of March 4, 1978. — Ian James, azcentral, "He took down dams, freed wolves and preserved wildlands. Bruce Babbitt is still at work," 14 July 2019 About three months ago, my husband and I were awakened in the middle of the night by our son calling. — Amy Dickinson, BostonGlobe.com, "Drunken brawl leads to sulking," 7 July 2019 But then: One morning about 4 A.M., I was awakened by a phone call. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Tracing the Internal Queer Revolution," 26 June 2019 The Apollo missions to the moon had just awakened the scientific community to the idea of space as a sort of shooting gallery in which the Earth was the target of frequent incoming shots. — David Von Drehle, Twin Cities, "David Von Drehle: Digging into our planet’s history," 22 July 2019 To be fair, ByteDance is not the first foreign company that stayed under the radar in India during its initial years until a regulatory or legal challenge awakened it to the need to invest time and energy in the country. — Niharika Sharma, Quartz India, "It took a ban and a government notice for ByteDance to wake up in India," 21 July 2019 About three months ago, my husband and I were awakened in the middle of the night by our son calling. — Ask Amy, oregonlive.com, "Ask Amy: Son’s drunken brawl leads to smaller allowance, silent treatment," 10 July 2019 About three months ago, my husband and I were awakened in the middle of the night by our son calling. — Amy Dickinson, The Denver Post, "Ask Amy: Drunken brawl leads to sulking," 10 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'awaken.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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More Definitions for awaken

awaken

verb

English Language Learners Definition of awaken

somewhat formal : to stop sleeping : to wake up

See the full definition for awaken in the English Language Learners Dictionary

awaken

verb

awak·en | \ ə-ˈwā-kən

awakened; awakening

Kids Definition of awaken

: awake entry 1

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awaken

Definition of awaken

Other Words from awaken

Synonyms & Antonyms for awaken

The Past Tense Forms of Awake and Awaken

Examples of awaken in a Sentence

First Known Use of awaken

History and Etymology for awaken

English Language Learners Definition of awaken

Kids Definition of awaken

awaken

Definition of awaken

Other Words from awaken

Synonyms & Antonyms for awaken

The Past Tense Forms of Awake and Awaken

Examples of awaken in a Sentence

First Known Use of awaken

History and Etymology for awaken

English Language Learners Definition of awaken

Kids Definition of awaken

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