aroused; arousing
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
Elizabeth Berg
: to awake from sleep : stir
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
Overview The emergence of teleSUR has aroused significant interest due to its uniqueness of being the first regional television channel purely financed by more than three Latin American states.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 May 2026
Bell is a revelation as the nebbish, envious and conflictedly aroused Niall — a desperate man hiding from others and himself.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2026
Payment processors aren’t idiots, and a huge number of new charges was likely to arouse suspicion.
—Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 13 Apr. 2026
Today, fiery Mars moves to the top of your chart to stay for the next six weeks, arousing your ambition as never before.
—Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for arouse
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Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 May 2026
Bell is a revelation as the nebbish, envious and conflictedly aroused Niall — a desperate man hiding from others and himself.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2026
Payment processors aren’t idiots, and a huge number of new charges was likely to arouse suspicion.
—Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 13 Apr. 2026
Today, fiery Mars moves to the top of your chart to stay for the next six weeks, arousing your ambition as never before.
—Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for arouse
Cite this Entry
“Arouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arouse. Accessed 1 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
arouse
transitive verb
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
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