wake 1 of 2

noun

Definition of wakenext
as in consciousness

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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
The contempt hearing Hoskins’ comments come in the wake of a chaotic redistricting battle that has dominated Missouri politics for the past year. — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026 Or that in its wake, Ducks coach Dan Lanning had savaged him and his program multiple times. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Verb
At 5 the next morning, my mother woke to find my dad’s side of the bed empty. — Trisha Thadani Kirsten Potter Tanya Pérez Devin Murphy, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026 That’s a fitting philosophy for The Unknown, a movie in which another life is not a metaphor but a waking nightmare. — Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 2 Oct. 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
  • In late September, the concept was thrust back into the public consciousness thanks to a Variety interview with actor Jack Innanen, who plays the Canadian himbo Paul Baker on the excellent sitcom Adults.
    — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The other half is captured in DuVernay’s fascinating portrait of the Lost Cause — the culture of defiance and regret and literal whitewashing that came to represent the Southern consciousness of what life had been before the Civil War.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of consciousness
Verb
  • But when the 20-foot-tall creation awakens, his gentle nature clashes with the violent purpose he was built for.
    — Jennifer Maas, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
  • This is because fictional texts awaken entirely personal resources of the imagination at both the moment of writing and the moment of reading.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of awaken
Verb
  • The city awoke two days later to find almost 18,000 buildings destroyed, much of the city leveled, 90,000 people homeless and 300-some people dead.
    — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Claire awoke the next day to a story about Campanis' comments in the newspaper.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of awake
Verb
  • The Reuters news agency reported Tuesday that the Saudi system to warn civilians of a military attack went silent days before the latest series of deadly Houthi strikes.
    — Frank Andrews, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • That list, the company warns, poses a risk for its ability to get adequate and affordable insurance.
    — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of warn
Noun
  • Researchers in China used deep-learning algorithms to analyze REM sleep, deep sleep, light sleep, total sleep duration, wakefulness after sleep onset and sleep irregularity.
    — Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Porodina is fascinated with hypnagogia, the threshold state between sleep and wakefulness.
    — Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of wakefulness
Verb
  • Peter roused again but had grown more certain since his last utterance.
    — Anand Giridharadas, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Bremen has received more acclaim than Model for its 4-0 start, partly because of a rousing 38-19 victory in its opener against four-time reigning Class A champion Bowdon.
    — Todd Holcomb, AJC.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of rouse
Verb
  • They were soon surrounded by a crowd of about 1,000 bewildered villagers, who alerted forest officials patrolling nearby.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The vessel alerted authorities, and a Greek Coast Guard crew arrived to toss her ropes and pull her to safety.
    — Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of alert

Browse Nearby Words

waiving
wake
wakeful
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wake.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wake. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on wake

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about wake

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of outlandish

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All