AWAKEN

awaken, wake, waken, rouse, wake up, arouse

(verb) cause to become awake or conscious; “He was roused by the drunken men in the street”; “Please wake me at 6 AM.”

awaken

(verb) make aware; “They were awakened to the sad facts”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Verb

awaken (third-person singular simple present awakens, present participle awakening, simple past and past participle awakened) (but see usage notes)

(transitive) To cause to become awake.

(intransitive) To stop sleeping; awake.

(transitive, figurative) To bring into action (something previously dormant); to stimulate.

(theology) To call to a sense of sin.

(rare) past participle of awake

Usage notes

This verb, for many speakers, has been essentially conflated with the verb awake, and has adopted parts of awake’s conjugation. awaken remains the bare form (and also in awakens and awakening), but its simple past and past participle are replaced by those of awake: awoke and awoken, respectively.

For many others, awaken has simply supplanted awake, without adopting conjugational elements from awake.

Synonyms

• (transitive, to cause to become awake): knock up, uprouse; see also awaken

• (intransitive, to stop sleeping): awake, stir; see also wake

• (to bring into action): animate, energize; see also enliven

Antonyms

• (stop sleeping): fall asleep

Source: Wiktionary

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A*wak"en, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Awakened (; p. pr. & vb. n. Awakening.] Etym: [OE. awakenen, awaknen, AS. awæcnan, awæcnian, v. i.; pref. on- + wæcnan to wake. Cf. Awake, v. t.]

Definition: To rouse from sleep or torpor; to awake; to wake. [He] is dispatched Already to awaken whom thou nam'st. Cowper. Their consciences are thoroughly awakened. Tillotson.

Syn.

– To arouse; excite; stir up; call forth.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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