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
Harnessing a specific type of wallpaper, called NuWallpaper, this creation leaves no sticky residue in its wake and will stick to pretty much anything that’s flat. — Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2026 The announcement comes in the wake of a series of incidents in which AI systems hacked into both corporate and government systems without being told to do so. — Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 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
  • Anya Gallaccio’s interest in decay and mortality pivoted nicely into a tactful, timely engagement with eco-consciousness and connection to place.
    — Eliza Goodpasture, ARTnews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The novel is elongated by ellipses…as if our heroine momentarily loses not words…but consciousness.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 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
  • Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned last month that Moscow is planning hybrid strikes with drones or rockets on European countries supporting Ukraine, which include Poland and Lithuania.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Writers in ancient Mesopotamia told several versions of a story in which the gods send a catastrophic flood but warn one man, who then builds a large boat to save his family and animals.
    — Eric Vanden Eykel, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of warn
Noun
  • Porodina is fascinated with hypnagogia, the threshold state between sleep and wakefulness.
    — Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Ninety-five out of 111 imaged cells lit up during slow-wave sleep and quiet, motionless wakefulness, and fell silent during running and REM sleep.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 18 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
  • Israel's domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet, was alerted to the fact that Israeli SIM cards that had been distributed to Hamas fighters were activated — a sign of their imminent intention to cross into Israel.
    — Dov Lieber, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Rosen noted that in 2025 after being alerted to his sharing of extremist material online, the FBI actually went to Mohamud's house to attempt to speak to his parents but were rebuffed.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 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 10 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 Luddite

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

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

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

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

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. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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