Definition of arousal
plural arousals
1
: the act of arousing someone or something
- arousal from sleep
- This belated arousal of the hunting instinct seemed to make almost another man of him.
- —Jack London
- His work with animals had implicated adrenaline and noradrenaline in emotional arousal and memory.
- —Daniel Goleman
2
: a state of physiological and psychological excitation caused by sexual contact or other erotic stimulation
- Studies show 60% of patients taking the drugs experience some form of sexual dysfunction, ranging from loss of desire to problems with arousal and an inability to reach orgasm.
- —Tara Parker-Pope
