1
as in to awaken
to cause to stop sleeping
the rooster's crow aroused me from my deep sleep
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to awake
to cease to be asleep
set the alarm so we would arouse at 5:00 a.m.
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to provoke
to rouse to strong feeling or action
the court's controversial decision aroused many to protest and to lobby the legislature for a constitutional amendment
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of arouse
The gobbling box will often arouse an old tom that nothing else can stir.
—
Charles Elliott, Outdoor Life, 2 Apr. 2026
The harder a person tries to force sleep, the more aroused the brain becomes, the more elusive sleep becomes.
—Rabbi Bruce D. Forman, Sun Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2026
No clear catalyst One reason the surge in oil futures trading is arousing suspicion is that no market-moving announcements were slated for Monday morning, such as government economic releases or speeches from Federal Reserve officials.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
The remoteness of the imperial government at Vienna and an increasingly illiberal regime soon aroused discontent in Austria’s Italian province.
—Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for arouse
Charles Elliott, Outdoor Life, 2 Apr. 2026
The harder a person tries to force sleep, the more aroused the brain becomes, the more elusive sleep becomes.
—Rabbi Bruce D. Forman, Sun Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2026
No clear catalyst One reason the surge in oil futures trading is arousing suspicion is that no market-moving announcements were slated for Monday morning, such as government economic releases or speeches from Federal Reserve officials.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
The remoteness of the imperial government at Vienna and an increasingly illiberal regime soon aroused discontent in Austria’s Italian province.
—Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for arouse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arouse
Verb
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One night, Altman took an Ambien, only to be awakened by his husband, an Australian coder named Oliver Mulherin, who told him that Sutskever was wavering, and that people were telling Altman to speak with the board.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
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Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max have settled back into a normal life of D&D, snowball fights, and quiet days, but beneath the ice, something terrifying has awakened.—
Jessica Radloff,
Glamour,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Anna awakes in her chic apartment with a to-die-for view, makes a cappuccino, puts on designer duds and takes the upscale dog for a walk.—
Jocelyn Noveck,
Boston Herald,
10 Apr. 2026
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The Boys give it a test run by killing a new supe named Rockhard, a spoof of Marvel’s The Thing, and wounding Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), whom Homelander awoke from cryostasis.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Christopher Nolan has cemented his status as one of our most consistently original and thought-provoking directors.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
6 Apr. 2026
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But traumatic episodes like the Notre-Dame fire generally provoke returns to the safe and familiar, not experimentation.—
David A. Bell,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Where will all these sciolistic refugees from woke America go if that largesse dries up?—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
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Kawamura has also given us a genuinely genius take on the waking existential crisis that is 21st century living.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Mission Control will rouse the astronauts with a wakeup song, kind of like an alarm.—
Tariq Malik,
Space.com,
10 Apr. 2026
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That unnerving bawl, which reappears at the rousing finale of the Barcelona concert, reflects the control Ciani has over her instrument, a mastery she’s built over almost 50 years of practice.—
Andrew Ryce,
Pitchfork,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Fans are encouraged to line up on South University Drive outside the President's House, west to the Student Union, and south down State Street to Yost Ice Arena.—
Paula Wethington,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
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The Live Local Act, a state law passed in 2023 to encourage developers to build more affordable housing, is the key driving the redesign of the faded mall that gained new owners in September 2025.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Other options, such as red light therapy caps, are non-invasive devices that use low-level light therapy to stimulate hair follicles and increase density.—
Cindy Krischer Goodman,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Apr. 2026
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Lightly massaging the area of application may further help relax muscles and stimulate circulation.—
T'Keyah Bazin,
Verywell Health,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Arouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arouse. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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