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

The brain perceives inevitable crises and uncertainties as a threat to our survival, instantly arousing fight-or-flight reactions. —Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025

On the other hand, Harry is acting shady enough to arouse some suspicions. —Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025

Mercury’s clash with Uranus arouses self-consciousness. —USA TODAY, 10 Feb. 2025

In retrospect, consent was likely a smoke screen for the brasher provocation of depicting unhoused men as nude, occasionally aroused, and self-possessed. —Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2025

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

Rhymes for arouse

• allows
• aphthous
• avows
• carouse
• endows
• espouse
• eyebrows
• boughs
• bows
• brows
• browse
• cows

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