arouse

verb \ ə-ˈrau̇z \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

Examples: arouse in a Sentence

Definition of arouse

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

—

arousal

play \ə-ˈrau̇-zəl\ noun

See arouse defined for English-language learners

See arouse defined for kids

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 of arouse from the Web

Yet, there also is an uneasy eroticism, more startling than directly arousing, but which still dangerously pulls the audience to the characters.

— theodore p. mahne, NOLA.com, "Intense production makes rare staging of Genet's 'The Maids' a standout," 1 June 2018
There's little doubt that the auto tariffs will arouse even more resentment, and be challenged by U.S. trading partners, said Alan Wolff, the American trade lawyer who is deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization.

— don lee, latimes.com, "With Trump's North Korea summit off, is the trade war with China back on?," 25 May 2018
Dark, explosive, pitiless, destructive, tornadoes are nature at its inhuman extreme, arousing awe and terror, the ultimate in the untamable and unknowable.

— john timpane, Philly.com, "'Man Who Caught the Storm': A tempestuous, true tale of a legendary storm-chaser," 18 May 2018
This machine-learning process is similar in some ways to teaching AI to recognize and reproduce images, another ability that has aroused ethical and privacy concerns.

— larry greenemeier, Scientific American, "So, Umm, Google Duplex’s Chatter Is Not Quite Human," 17 May 2018
Novartis’s payments to Cohen have reportedly aroused the interest of Swiss public prosecutors, although there are currently no criminal proceedings underway.

— david meyer, Fortune, "Top Novartis Lawyer Exits Over the $1.2 Million It Paid to Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen," 16 May 2018
The Los Angeles Times deemed him—channeling the president’s wants without arousing his anger.

— alexander nazaryan, Newsweek, "How the EPA's Scott Pruitt Became the Most Dangerous Member of Trump’s Cabinet," 8 Feb. 2018
But the boys had aroused the curiosity of some police officers hovering outside: Why were three boys out after midnight?

— robert.king@indystar.com, Indianapolis Star, "Colt Lundy: A prison of his own making," 10 May 2014
Choreographers have just a short window to make a mark on the show each week: Routines last around 90 seconds and are often packed with virtuosic moves to arouse cheers from live audiences.

— brian schaefer, New York Times, "But Is It Good for Dance? ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ at 15," 1 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'arouse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of arouse

a- (as in arise) + rouse

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1616

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

arouse Synonyms

AROUSE Defined for English Language Learners

arouse

verb

Definition of arouse for English Language Learners

: to cause (an emotional or mental state)
: to excite (someone) sexually
: to wake (someone) from sleep

AROUSE Defined for Kids

arouse

verb \ ə-ˈrau̇z \

Definition of arouse for Students

aroused; arousing

1 : to awaken from sleep

2 : to cause to feel

arouse anger

3 : to cause to become active or upset

arouse the opposition

Medical Dictionary

arouse

transitive verb \ ə-ˈrau̇z \

medical Definition of arouse

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

play \ə-ˈrau̇-zə-bəl\ adjective

—

arousability

play \ə-ˌrau̇-zə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun, plural -ties

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arouse

Definition of arouse

arousal

Examples of arouse in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of arouse

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AROUSE Defined for English Language Learners

arouse

Definition of arouse for English Language Learners

AROUSE Defined for Kids

arouse

Definition of arouse for Students

Medical Dictionary

arouse

medical Definition of arouse

arousable

arousability

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