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

• awaken
• wake
• rouse
• awake

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 titillating drama explores the complexities of dominant-submissive relationships and fetishes, as Ray gets aroused by making Colin lick his boots, buy his groceries and sleep at the foot of his bed. —Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 6 Oct. 2025

But then Swift reveals the full conceit of the song, which is how flattering and even arousing it is to hear about someone thinking about you constantly (even if for negative reasons). —Zack Sharf, Variety, 3 Oct. 2025

The scans aroused suspicions, and the decision was made to admit Jim through the emergency room. —Ann Patchett, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025

Court records also cite graphic messages in which Zinn admitted to being aroused by the material. —Jesus Mesa gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025

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

Rhymes for arouse

• allows
• aphthous
• avows
• carouse
• endows
• espouse
• eyebrows
• boughs
• bows
• brows
• browse
• cows

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