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as in to awake
to cease to be asleep
she usually wakens when sunlight begins to stream through the windows
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of waken
However, my condo association includes several dozen inland three-story condominium buildings, which means that the chance that our residents will be wakened by their building collapsing around them is near zero.
—
Bruce Strom, Sun Sentinel, 6 Apr. 2025
More than that, there is obvious attraction — Mags has a bisexual side that suddenly wakens from long slumber.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Feb. 2025
Two easy arm swing stretches to waken your shoulders after hours hunched over computers and phones.
—Jonathan Beverly, Outside Online, 19 May 2020
The startling display of acrobatics came, according to police, on Oct. 19, after homeowners in the 700 block of Pershing Drive in Silver Spring were wakened about 2:15 a.m. by the sound of a door.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2019
Before the Sword, by Grace Lin Mulan crept into her house, even though the Rabbit had told her the villagers would not waken even with the loudest of noises.
—David Canfield, EW.com, 24 Oct. 2019
Or later consciousness resurfaces in the morning on my return to the wakening world.
—Christof Koch, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2017
The dogs were asleep in their kennels at the time and wakened only when the would-be thief was discovered by the staff.
—Anne F. Thurston, Foreign Affairs, 23 Feb. 2016
Bruce Strom, Sun Sentinel, 6 Apr. 2025
More than that, there is obvious attraction — Mags has a bisexual side that suddenly wakens from long slumber.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Feb. 2025
Two easy arm swing stretches to waken your shoulders after hours hunched over computers and phones.
—Jonathan Beverly, Outside Online, 19 May 2020
The startling display of acrobatics came, according to police, on Oct. 19, after homeowners in the 700 block of Pershing Drive in Silver Spring were wakened about 2:15 a.m. by the sound of a door.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2019
Before the Sword, by Grace Lin Mulan crept into her house, even though the Rabbit had told her the villagers would not waken even with the loudest of noises.
—David Canfield, EW.com, 24 Oct. 2019
Or later consciousness resurfaces in the morning on my return to the wakening world.
—Christof Koch, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2017
The dogs were asleep in their kennels at the time and wakened only when the would-be thief was discovered by the staff.
—Anne F. Thurston, Foreign Affairs, 23 Feb. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waken
Verb
-
An opportunity to wake a dormant gift.—
Seth Wickersham,
The Atlantic,
8 Sep. 2025
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While the relationship didn't become romantic until later on, Umansky and Zingerman spent nearly every waking moment together in high school.—
Emy LaCroix,
People.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
There won’t be a day when Americans awake to news that vaccines are prohibited, or that the National Institutes of Health has been shuttered.—
Dhruv Khullar,
New Yorker,
6 Sep. 2025
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After traversing nearby neighborhoods with William in their patrol car, officers found the boy's home and awoke his parents to the news.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Gnawing paranoia inevitably awakens Pynchon’s characters to the matrix of control enveloping their lives.—
John Lopez,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Sep. 2025
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Many of us in the workforce don’t have the luxury of when to hit the hay or awaken in the morning.—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
A little more than five years ago, Vice President Mike Pence gave a rousing speech in Alabama, setting a goal of landing humans on the Moon by 2024 and laying the political groundwork for the Artemis Program and all that has followed.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
5 Sep. 2025
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If anything might rouse him now The kind old sun will know.—
Jack Sheehan
September 4,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Waken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waken. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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