wake 1 of 2

noun

Definition of wakenext
as in consciousness

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wake

2 of 2

verb

ˈwāk How to pronounce wake (audio)
1
as in to awaken
to cause to stop sleeping my banging around in the kitchen woke my wife

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to awake
to cease to be asleep I woke with a start when the door slammed

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to warn
to give notice to beforehand especially of danger or risk a public service announcement designed to wake people to the dangers of aggressive driving

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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 wake
Noun
Aronson was hired in 2019, following a lengthy career at Fox that ended in the wake of the Disney merger. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026 Palmer himself paced the room on a phone call, doling out smiles of encouragement and inspiring a hushed reverence in his wake. — Colleen McNally Arnett, Southern Living, 20 Aug. 2026
Verb
Research The Route Before You Cruise The challenge is knowing which arrivals are worth waking for. — David Nikel, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 The research above showed that distribution of sleep stages and the stage prior to waking, not duration, can impact the possibility of sleep inertia. — Alexandra Frost, USA Today, 17 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for wake
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wake
  1. consciousness
  2. awaken
  3. awake
  4. warn
  5. wakefulness
  6. rouse
  7. alert
Noun
  • And yes, while the Olympics are one point of public familiarity, that’s just one small part of our collective cultural consciousness around the sport.
    — Rebecca Leib, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Or at least to accrue enough data center capacity to rent to those trying to create a new collective consciousness out of silicon.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of consciousness
Verb
  • The first thing Kontras remembers after his surgery is awakening and seeing his left arm still intact.
    — Jeff Murray, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026
  • She was awakened in the middle of the night by her barking dog and the sound of a woman screaming in the street.
    — City News Service, Daily News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of awaken
Verb
  • 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
  • Newcastle yearned to win, to fulfil the dream awoken by Keegan — who died of cancer last month — and Isak was part of the team that finally did it, a languid forward with a kiss for a touch who scored at Wembley when Liverpool were beaten.
    — George Caulkin, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of awake
Verb
  • In response, Macron warned that if American companies can switch off access to breakthroughs like turning off a light, the value of these leading US innovators could itself be damaged.
    — , CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Analysts warn each ransom payment fuels more crime as armed groups, from rural bandits to Islamist militants, raid schools, mosques and villages, with an average of 21 kidnappings reported daily.
    — Dyepkazah Shibayan, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of warn
Noun
  • Orexins help regulate wakefulness, as well as attention, motivation and the brain’s reward system.
    — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 20 Aug. 2026
  • But in people with narcolepsy, such boundaries become blurred, allowing elements of sleep to intrude into wakefulness in varying ways.
    — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 8 July 2026
Definition of wakefulness
Verb
  • These two exceedingly nimble keyboardists teamed for a rousing take on Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski’s intensely spirited Variations on a Theme of Paganini.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
  • But Brown gained a step on Mitchell on Thursday and hauled in a touchdown that roused the home crowd.
    — Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of rouse
Verb
  • Bonds, who carries the BRCA gene, remembers going to a waiting room and being handed a beeper that would alert her when a doctor was ready.
    — Eileen Finan, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026
  • LifeLock's identity and financial monitoring features can alert you to certain signs of identity theft, while its restoration services can help if your information is misused.
    — Andreina Rodriguez, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of alert

Browse Nearby Words

waiving
wake
wakeful
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Cite this Entry

“Wake.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wake. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about wake

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