awakening
noun
awak·en·ing
ə-ˈwāk-niŋ 
ə-ˈwā-kə-
plural awakenings
1
: a rousing from sleep
The night terror is an abrupt awakening early in the night, most often within the first hour or two of sleep …—
Franklin Galvin et al.
Franklin Galvin et al.2
a
: a rousing from inactivity or indifference
… one of the primary branches of yoga … prescribes various practices to assist the yogi in the gradual awakening of the heart.—James Bailey
James Bailey
b
: a revival of interest in something (such as religion)
Russian Jews themselves experienced a cultural and political awakening after Israel's victory, some openly challenging their government's ban on religious and Hebrew training.—Jonathan D. Sarna
Jonathan D. Sarna3
: a coming into awareness
Like his discovery of literature, this intimacy becomes an awakening to the possibilities of life.—Morris Dickstein
Morris DicksteinExamples of awakening in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Russian awakening to the importance of drones coincided with the stabilization of the front lines, around August 2022.
—IEEE Spectrum, 10 Apr. 2024
That content, outside the reach of state censorship, had stirred a political awakening for their generation, which makes up around half of the country’s electorate.
—Zia Ur-Rehman Saiyna Bashir, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2024
Along the way, Huck has a necessary moral awakening as his Black companion teaches him, directly and indirectly, about the evils of prejudice.
—Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2024
Even when the script tips into melodrama, Mulligan is reliably brilliant as a downtrodden woman experiencing a political awakening.
—Janey Tracey, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024
Herrera said the influence of some of these statements can be traced back to the Canadian punk band Propagandhi, who helped jolt his political awakening.
—Charlie Vargas, Orange County Register, 15 Feb. 2024
But for Lee, her time on campus is preserved in amber — the years of student activism, her first trip to Africa, and a political awakening.
—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 12 Feb. 2024
After having an awakening in her psychology class, Francis took matters into her own hands by choosing to heal.
—Celeste Polanco, Essence, 31 Jan. 2024
But there's more to this half-hour than Lisa's awakening; her meat-eschewing highlights her relationship with Homer, one of the show's most interesting dynamics, and also leads to a few of the series' catchiest gags.
—EW.com, 18 Mar. 2024
IEEE Spectrum, 10 Apr. 2024
That content, outside the reach of state censorship, had stirred a political awakening for their generation, which makes up around half of the country’s electorate.
—Zia Ur-Rehman Saiyna Bashir, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2024
Along the way, Huck has a necessary moral awakening as his Black companion teaches him, directly and indirectly, about the evils of prejudice.
—Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2024
Even when the script tips into melodrama, Mulligan is reliably brilliant as a downtrodden woman experiencing a political awakening.
—Janey Tracey, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024
Herrera said the influence of some of these statements can be traced back to the Canadian punk band Propagandhi, who helped jolt his political awakening.
—Charlie Vargas, Orange County Register, 15 Feb. 2024
But for Lee, her time on campus is preserved in amber — the years of student activism, her first trip to Africa, and a political awakening.
—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 12 Feb. 2024
After having an awakening in her psychology class, Francis took matters into her own hands by choosing to heal.
—Celeste Polanco, Essence, 31 Jan. 2024
But there's more to this half-hour than Lisa's awakening; her meat-eschewing highlights her relationship with Homer, one of the show's most interesting dynamics, and also leads to a few of the series' catchiest gags.
—EW.com, 18 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'awakening.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Awakening.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/awakening. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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