rouse

1 of 3

verb

ˈrau̇z 

roused; rousing

transitive verb

1

a

: to arouse from or as if from sleep or repose : awaken

b

: to stir up : excite

was roused to fury

2

archaic : to cause to break from cover

intransitive verb

1

: to become aroused : awaken

2

: to become stirred

rousement

ˈrau̇z-mənt 

noun

rouser noun

rouse

2 of 3

noun (1)

: an act or instance of rousing

especially : an excited stir

rouse

3 of 3

noun (2)

1

archaic : carousal

2

obsolete : drink, toast

Synonyms

Verb

• arouse
• awake
• awaken
• knock up [British]
• wake
• waken

Examples of rouse in a Sentence

Verb

I've been unable to rouse her.

I was so tired I could barely rouse myself to prepare dinner.

These animals are dangerous when roused.

She was roused to anger by their indifference.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The Netflix adaptation has been a rousing success, if the number of thirst edits of Buggy the Pirate Clown are a reliable metric. —Vulture, 14 Sep. 2023

Next Goal Wins Based on Mike Brett and Steve Jamison’s documentary of the same name, Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins promises to be a rousing dramatization of the American Samoa national football team’s attempts to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 2014. —Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2023

Under such breathless pacing, the nastiness begins to feel less harrowing than absurdly overwrought, until even its ostentatiously ugly ending fails to rouse much feeling in any direction. —Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Sep. 2023

The sound of crunching leaves and a faint grunt roused me. —Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 14 Sep. 2023

Despite a rousing round of applause and plenty of whoops and hollers, the musicians deflected. —Rachel Desantis, Peoplemag, 14 Sep. 2023

There is something slightly anachronistic about the rousing feminist themes here, but the film is great fun and the Toronto audience was wildly cheering at the end, which crescendoes with hilarious profanities hurled by both bravura actresses. —Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 13 Sep. 2023

Guzmán’s camera crew is given a gift when 300,000 Chileans protest at a worker’s funeral — a rousing, epic vision like the J6 footage if the ABC network hack James Goldston, hired by Pelosi’s Democrats, hadn’t distorted and editorialized it. —Armond White, National Review, 13 Sep. 2023

With some donning trash bags taped over their shoes, a sock pulled over a trash bag pulled over a sock, or others just going barefoot, our camp leader called an emergency meeting that roused us with hope and purpose. —Morena Duwe, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, to shake the feathers

Noun (2)

alteration (from misdivision of to drink carouse) of carouse

First Known Use

Verb

1531, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Noun (1)

1764, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

circa 1593, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

rouse

verb

ˈrau̇z

roused; rousing

1

: awake entry 1 sense 1

2

: to make or become active : stir up