arouse

verb

ə-ˈrau̇z 

aroused; arousing

transitive verb

1

: to awaken from sleep

was aroused from a deep sleep by a loud noise

2

: to stimulate to action or to bodily readiness for activity : excite

a book that has aroused debate

3

: to excite (someone) sexually : to cause sexual arousal in (someone)

… girls whose perfume scent frightened him and aroused him.

—Elizabeth Berg

intransitive verb

: to awake from sleep : stir

aroused

ə-ˈrau̇zd 

adjective

Synonyms

• awake
• awaken
• knock up [British]
• rouse
• wake
• waken

Examples of arouse in a Sentence

The report aroused a great deal of public interest.

The husky sound of her voice could always arouse him.

Their proposal is certain to arouse the opposition.

Recent Examples on the Web

But Scott also aroused authorities’ suspicions because of his relaxed manner and his referring to Laci in the past tense in his first conversation with police. —Johnny Dodd, Peoplemag, 17 Aug. 2024

Every package used a false description to fool customs, successfully pushing gun parts into the US by simply labeling them as objects unlikely to arouse suspicions, such as a tool, a motor, or a necklace. —Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 12 Sep. 2024

Voter participation was high compared with previous parliamentary elections, illustrating the political fervour Macron aroused with his stunning decision to call a parliamentary vote after the RN trounced his party in European Parliament elections earlier this month. —Juliette Jabkhiro and Layli Foroudi, USA TODAY, 30 June 2024

And unlike movies, songs are relatively cheap to make, so if teasing one fails to arouse interest, an artist can cut bait quickly, or even trash a track and not bother to put it out. —Elias Leight, Billboard, 7 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

a- (as in arise, awake entry 1) + rouse entry 1

Note: The verb arouse is formed by analogy with rise : arise, wake : awake; in these pairs a- goes back to Old English, as either the perfective prefix a- (see abide) or a reduced form of on- (see a- entry 1).

First Known Use

circa 1616, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

arouse

verb

ə-ˈrau̇z 

aroused; arousing

1

: to awaken from sleep

2

: to rouse to action : excite

Medical Definition

arouse

transitive verb

ə-ˈrau̇z 

aroused; arousing

1

a

: to awake from sleep

b

: to rouse or stimulate to action

c

: to excite (someone) sexually : to cause sexual arousal in (someone)

2

: to give rise to

a response aroused by a stimulus

arousable

ə-ˈrau̇-zə-bəl 

adjective

arousability

ə-ˌrau̇-zə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

plural arousabilities