Adjacent Words

Arouse definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

AROUSE, v.t. arouz'. [Heb.]
To excite into action, that which is at rest; to stir, or put in motion or exertion that which is languid; as, to arouse one from sleep; to arouse the dormant faculties.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses); "arouse pity"; "raise a smile"; "evoke sympathy" [syn: arouse, elicit, enkindle, kindle, evoke, fire, raise, provoke]
2: stop sleeping; "She woke up to the sound of the alarm clock" [syn: wake up, awake, arouse, awaken, wake, come alive, waken] [ant: dope off, doze off, drift off, drop off, drowse off, fall asleep, flake out, nod off]
3: summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic; "raise the specter of unemployment"; "he conjured wild birds in the air"; "call down the spirits from the mountain" [syn: raise, conjure, conjure up, invoke, evoke, stir, call down, arouse, bring up, put forward, call forth]
4: cause to be alert and energetic; "Coffee and tea stimulate me"; "This herbal infusion doesn't stimulate" [syn: stimulate, arouse, brace, energize, energise, perk up] [ant: calm, de-energise, de-energize, sedate, tranquilize, tranquillise, tranquillize]
5: cause to become awake or conscious; "He was roused by the drunken men in the street"; "Please wake me at 6 AM." [syn: awaken, wake, waken, rouse, wake up, arouse] [ant: cause to sleep]
6: to begin moving, "As the thunder started the sleeping children began to stir" [syn: arouse, stir]
7: stimulate sexually; "This movie usually arouses the male audience" [syn: arouse, sex, excite, turn on, wind up]

Merriam Webster's

verb (aroused; arousing) Etymology: a- (as in arise) + rouse Date: 1593 transitive verb 1. to awaken from sleep 2. to rouse or stimulate to action or to physiological readiness for activity ; excite <the book aroused debate> intransitive verb to awake from sleep ; stir • arousal noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 induce; call into existence (esp. a feeling, emotion, etc.). 2 awake from sleep. 3 stir into activity. 4 stimulate sexually. Derivatives: arousable adj. arousal n. arouser n. Etymology: A-(2) + ROUSE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Arouse A*rouse", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Aroused; p. pr. & vb. n. Arousing.] [Pref. a- + rouse.] To excite to action from a state of rest; to stir, or put in motion or exertion; to rouse; to excite; as, to arouse one from sleep; to arouse the dormant faculties. Grasping his spear, forth issued to arouse His brother, mighty sovereign on the host. --Cowper. No suspicion was aroused. --Merivale.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(arouses, arousing, aroused) 1. If something arouses a particular reaction or attitude in people, it causes them to have that reaction or attitude. We left in the daytime so as not to arouse suspicion. VERB: V n 2. If something arouses a particular feeling or instinct that exists in someone, it causes them to experience that feeling or instinct strongly. There is nothing like a long walk to arouse the appetite... VERB: V n 3. If you are aroused by something, it makes you feel sexually excited. Some men are aroused when their partner says erotic words to them. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed • aroused Some men feel that they get most sexually aroused in the morning. ADJ: usu v-link ADJ • arousing Being stroked by a partner is usually more arousing than stroking yourself. ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Incite, excite, animate, stimulate, warm, kindle, inspirit, provoke, instigate, awaken, rouse, raise, whet, stir up, wake up, summon up, set on, hurry on.

Moby Thesaurus

aggravate, agitate, alarm, alert, anger, animate, annoy, awake, awaken, bestir, blow the coals, blow up, bring forth, bring out, bring to light, bristle, call forth, call out, call up, chafe, challenge, cry havoc, cry wolf, deduce, derive, drag out, draw forth, draw out, dynamize, educe, electrify, elicit, embitter, encourage, energize, enkindle, enliven, enrage, evoke, exasperate, excite, exhilarate, fan, fan the fire, fan the flame, feed the fire, ferment, fire, flame, fly storm warnings, foment, foster, frenzy, fret, frighten, galvanize, get from, get out of, hearten, heat, heat up, huff, impassion, incense, incite, induce, inflame, infuriate, instigate, invigorate, irritate, jazz up, key up, kindle, knock up, lather up, light the fuse, light up, liven, madden, miff, move, nettle, obtain, overexcite, peeve, pep up, perk up, pique, procure, provoke, put up to, quicken, raise, raise up, rally, rankle, revive, rile, roil, rouse, ruffle, secure, set astir, set fire to, set on, set on fire, set up, shake up, sic on, snap up, sound the alarm, sound the tocsin, spark, startle, steam up, stimulate, stir, stir the blood, stir the embers, stir the feelings, stir up, summon forth, summon up, thrill, tickle, turn on, vex, vitalize, wake, wake up, waken, wangle, wangle out of, warm, warm the blood, warn, whet, whip up, winkle out, work into, work up, worm out, worm out of, zip up