awaken

verb

awak·​en ə-ˈwā-kən 

awakened; awakening ə-ˈwāk-niŋ 

ə-ˈwā-kə-

; awakens

transitive + intransitive

: 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

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

Did you know?

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'.

Synonyms

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

Examples of awaken in a Sentence

She usually awakens several times during the night.

A loud noise awakened her.

Recent Examples on the Web

Denver may awaken to several inches of snow, The Washington Post reports. —Amanda Castro, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024

Being brought so close to the prospect of death awakens ghosts from Leila’s past that the woman must address. —Jamie Lang, Variety, 22 Nov. 2024

While far from awakening the passion that the British hold for their royals, Felipe and Letizia’s public events are usually greeted by crowds of fans. —Joseph Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2024

Seeing their sickly child’s newfound obsession awaken within him a vigor and excitement for learning, Roosevelt’s parents encouraged his passion for natural history. —Peter Zablocki, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English awæcnian, from a- + wæcnian to waken

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing awaken

• awaken (someone or something) to (something)
• awaken to (something)

Kids Definition

awaken

verb

awak·​en ə-ˈwā-kən 

awakened; awakening -ˈwāk-(ə-)niŋ 

: awake entry 1

awakener

-(ə-)nər 

noun