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

The Six-Day War was such a miracle, and aroused very deep feelings toward the birthplace of our nation—Hebron, Shiloh, Jericho, Nablus. —Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2023

There are different kinds as well, like someone who was aroused by water spurting out of a faucet, another aroused by wet clothes. —Gavin J Blair, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Oct. 2023

But, at the end of the day, look, weakness arouses evil. —Nbc Universal, NBC News, 22 Oct. 2023

The video featured Wilson and Pickens Jr. making speeches in front of a SAG/AFTRA tent to the other actors on the picket line, arousing applause from the crowd. —Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 7 Oct. 2023

Perhaps Semilla’s biggest asset going into the first round was that its success seemed so unlikely that the Party never aroused the suspicions of the Public Ministry. —Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2023

In a brilliant twist that’s both a matter of dramatic import and of symbolic power, Jake soon discovers that his appearance arouses suspicion. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2023

But for critics of the event, the background of the group that organized it, Rosh Yehudi, aroused suspicion. —Patrick Kingsley, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2023

Her anger was easily aroused by disobedience and contradiction. —Rachel Cusk, Harper's Magazine, 10 Sep. 2023

See More

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