aroused 1 of 2

adjective

1
as in roused

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2
as in excited

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aroused

2 of 2

verb

past tense of arouse
1
as in woke
to cause to stop sleeping the rooster's crow aroused me from my deep sleep

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2
as in awoke
to cease to be asleep set the alarm so we would arouse at 5:00 a.m.

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3
as in provoked
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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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of aroused
Verb
His efforts, however, encountered their greatest obstacle after World War II due to the suspicions aroused by Philip’s family’s uncomfortable ties to the Nazis. — Diego Parrado, Vanity Fair, 29 Sep. 2026 In an unexpected move, China blocked tech company Meta from acquiring artificial intelligence startup Manus in April, after the deal apparently aroused government concern about the transfer of advanced technology. — Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026 In an unexpected move, China blocked tech giant Meta from acquiring artificial intelligence startup Manus in April after the deal apparently aroused government concern about the transfer of advanced technology. — ABC News, 15 Sep. 2026 The song was inspired by his boyfriend, who, when aroused, came over his head. — Harry Tafoya, Pitchfork, 9 July 2026 As virality goes, this is not a big number, but the passion that the account has aroused dwarfs its reach. — David Kamp, New Yorker, 29 June 2026 Overview The emergence of teleSUR has aroused significant interest due to its uniqueness of being the first regional television channel purely financed by more than three Latin American states. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 May 2026 Bell is a revelation as the nebbish, envious and conflictedly aroused Niall — a desperate man hiding from others and himself. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2026 This aroused suspicion and eventually led to searches of Kamnik’s phone, computer, and external hard drive, which revealed a massive trove of illicit material. — Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 9 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aroused
  1. awakened
  2. excited
  3. woke
  4. awoke
  5. provoked
  6. horny
  7. roused
  8. encouraged
Adjective
  • There’s a flash of light, and a wind blows over the stunned, awakened audience.
    — Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Angine desperately returns to the store, again and again, to get her fix from Malaise, her face reddening from blood just below the surface, a canvas of her awakened desire.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2025
Definition of awakened
Adjective
  • More than 80% of Chinese felt excited about AI applications, KPMG reported last year; only half that percentage of Americans felt the same.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Many studies have found that children get excited about getting their own books in the mail, addressed to them personally.
    — Alex H. Poole, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of excited
Verb
  • In the middle of the night, as the floodwaters were rising, the dog woke her by shaking water off herself, giving the family enough time to climb a ladder onto the roof of their home just minutes before it was completely flooded.
    — Fabiola Sanchez, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Above-average rainfall in June and August, along with several cold fronts sweeping across the region, woke the seeds from a lengthy slumber to transform the landscape.
    — Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of woke
Verb
  • Back in 2018, Tarantino reportedly awoke in the middle of the night to find two burglars inside his home.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The boy awoke at a family cottage in northern Ontario in 2024 with a bat resting across his nose and mouth.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of awoke
Verb
  • Even in a country with one of the highest murder rates in the world, the scale of the killings in such a short space of time has provoked shock.
    — Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Ayer came on board the film after reading Cameron Alexander’s script, which provoked such a strong emotional response that the director couldn’t resist taking the material on.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of provoked
Adjective
  • Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 manga laid the groundwork for some of the genre's most enduring tropes (gender switching, horny old guys, tournaments), and this is the second anime adaptation, this time from Studio MAPPA.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Musgraves has been leaning fully into her unabashedly horny era.
    — Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of horny
Verb
  • Peter roused again but had grown more certain since his last utterance.
    — Anand Giridharadas, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2026
  • After Zverev had established a two-sets-to-love lead, Shelton roused himself and the crowd by taking the third set.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of roused
Verb
  • Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra told CNN his client remains committed to working with Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation and is encouraged by her appointment.
    — Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Many of these culture-creating behaviors have been observed in 2026 Anthropic studies of multi-agent systems this year that encouraged complex collaboration.
    — Michael Morris, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of encouraged

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Cite this Entry

“Aroused.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aroused. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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