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

His political takes are even more provocative, meant to arouse, anger and annoy but also to provoke push-back, stirring debate and discussion. —Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024

The growing Minority Report vibes and the evidence that Feds are neck-deep in hip-hop media and culture, connecting the wrong dots, arouse a numbing resignation about future overreach. —Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024

Yet, when he is aroused, Sir Walter Raleigh gives way to Nathan Detroit, often in midsentence. —Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024

So maybe use the feelings aroused by your sister-in-law’s thoughtless, certainly injudicious, possibly naughty remark as an opportunity to rise above. —James Parker, The Atlantic, 22 Oct. 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