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
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
And each movement aroused an urge to move in the woman lying above, as if an avalanche of imperceptible but palpable vibrations had been triggered.
—Literary Hub, 7 Apr. 2026
There, the tortoise became visibly aroused seeing another tortoise.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for arouse
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
And each movement aroused an urge to move in the woman lying above, as if an avalanche of imperceptible but palpable vibrations had been triggered.
—Literary Hub, 7 Apr. 2026
There, the tortoise became visibly aroused seeing another tortoise.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 4 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 24 Apr. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
