Rouse Definitions

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ROUSE, v.t. rouz. [This word, written also arouse, seems to belong to the family of raise or rush. See Raise.]
1. To wake from sleep or repose. Genesis 49.
2. To excite to thought or action from a state of idleness, languor, stupidity or inattention.
3. To put into action; to agitate.
Blust'ring winds that rous'd the sea.
4. To drive a beast from his den or place of rest.
ROUSE, v.i.
1. To awake from sleep or repose.
Morpheus rouses from his bed.
2. To be excited to thought or action from a state of indolence, sluggishness, languor or inattention.
ROUSE, v.i. In seamen's language, to pull together upon a cable, etc. without the assistance of tackles or other mechanical power.
ROUSE, n. rouz.
A full glass of liquor; a bumper in honor of a health. Obs.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: become active; "He finally bestirred himself" [syn: bestir, rouse]
2: force or drive out; "The police routed them out of bed at 2 A.M." [syn: rout out, drive out, force out, rouse]
3: cause to be agitated, excited, or roused; "The speaker charged up the crowd with his inflammatory remarks" [syn: agitate, rouse, turn on, charge, commove, excite, charge up] [ant: calm, calm down, lull, quiet, quieten, still, tranquilize, tranquillise, tranquillize]
4: 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]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (roused; rousing) Etymology: Middle English, to shake the feathers Date: 1531 transitive verb 1. archaic to cause to break from cover 2. a. to stir up ; excite <was roused to fury> b. to arouse from or as if from sleep or repose ; awaken intransitive verb 1. to become aroused ; awaken 2. to become stirred • rousement noun • rouser noun II. noun Date: 1824 an act or instance of rousing; especially an excited stir III. noun Etymology: alteration (from misdivision of to drink carouse) of carouse Date: circa 1601 1. obsolete drink, toast 2. archaic carousal

English Explanatory Dictionary

n. Austral. & NZ an unskilled labourer or odd jobber, esp. on a farm.

English Explanatory Dictionary

n. Austral. & NZ an unskilled labourer or odd jobber, esp. on a farm.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 a tr. (often foll. by from, out of) bring out of sleep, wake. b intr. (often foll. by up) cease to sleep, wake up. 2 (often foll. by up) a tr. stir up, make active or excited, startle out of inactivity or confidence or carelessness (roused them from their complacency; was roused to protest). b intr. become active. 3 tr. provoke to anger (is terrible when roused). 4 tr. evoke (feelings). 5 tr. (usu. foll. by in, out, up) Naut. haul vigorously. 6 tr. startle (game) from a lair or cover. 7 tr. stir (liquid, esp. beer while brewing). Phrases and idioms: rouse oneself overcome one's indolence. Derivatives: rousable adj. rouser n. Etymology: orig. as a hawking and hunting term, so prob. f. AF: orig. unkn.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rouse Rouse (rouz or rous), v. i. & t. [Perhaps the same word as rouse to start up, ``buckle to.''] (Naut.) To pull or haul strongly and all together, as upon a rope, without the assistance of mechanical appliances.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rouse Rouse (rouz), n. [Cf. D. roes drunkeness, icel. r?ss, Sw. rus, G. rauchen, and also E. rouse, v.t., rush, v.i. Cf. Row a disturbance.] 1. A bumper in honor of a toast or health. [Obs.] --Shak. 2. A carousal; a festival; a drinking frolic. Fill the cup, and fill the can, Have a rouse before the morn. --Tennyson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rouse Rouse, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Roused (rouzd); p. pr. & vb. n. Rousing.] [Probably of Scan. origin; cf. Sw. rusa to rush, Dan. ruse, AS. hre['o]san to fall, rush. Cf. Rush, v.] 1. To cause to start from a covert or lurking place; as, to rouse a deer or other animal of the chase. Like wild boars late roused out of the brakes. --Spenser. Rouse the fleet hart, and cheer the opening hound. --Pope. 2. To wake from sleep or repose; as, to rouse one early or suddenly. 3. To excite to lively thought or action from a state of idleness, languor, stupidity, or indifference; as, to rouse the faculties, passions, or emotions. To rouse up a people, the most phlegmatic of any in Christendom. --Atterbury. 4. To put in motion; to stir up; to agitate. Blustering winds, which all night long Had roused the sea. --Milton. 5. To raise; to make erect. [Obs.] --Spenser. Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rouse Rouse, v. i. 1. To get or start up; to rise. [Obs.] Night's black agents to their preys do rouse. --Shak. 2. To awake from sleep or repose. Morpheus rouses from his bed. --Pope. 3. To be exited to thought or action from a state of indolence or inattention.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(rouses, rousing, roused) 1. If someone rouses you when you are sleeping or if you rouse, you wake up. (LITERARY) Hilton roused him at eight-thirty by rapping on the door... When I put my hand on his, he stirs but doesn't quite rouse. = wake VERB: V n, V 2. If you rouse yourself, you stop being inactive and start doing something. She seemed to be unable to rouse herself to do anything... He roused himself from his lazy contemplation of the scene beneath him... VERB: V pron-refl to-inf, V pron-refl from n 3. If something or someone rouses you, they make you very emotional or excited. He did more to rouse the crowd there than anybody else... Ben says his father was good-natured, a man not quickly roused to anger or harsh opinions. VERB: V n, be V-ed to n • rousing ...a rousing speech to the convention in support of the president. = stirring ADJ: usu ADJ n 4. If something rouses a feeling in you, it causes you to have that feeling. It roused a feeling of rebellion in him... VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Awaken, wake, waken, arouse. 2. Animate, kindle, enkindle, stimulate, excite, provoke, stir up. 3. Put in commotion, agitate. 4. Startle, surprise, drive from cover. II. v. n. 1. Rise, stand up, stand erect. 2. Awake, wake, get up, start up.

Moby Thesaurus

aggravate, animate, annoy, arise, arouse, awake, awaken, bestir, blow the coals, blow up, bring forth, bring out, bring to light, call, call forth, call out, call up, challenge, come alive, deduce, deepen, derive, drag out, draw forth, draw out, dynamize, educe, electrify, elicit, energize, enhance, enkindle, enliven, enrage, evoke, excite, exhilarate, fan, fan the fire, fan the flame, feed the fire, fire, fire up, flame, foment, frenzy, galvanize, get from, get out of, get up, goad, hearten, heat, heighten, impassion, incense, incite, induce, inflame, infuriate, inspirit, instigate, invigorate, jazz up, key up, kindle, knock up, lather up, light the fuse, light up, liven, madden, magnify, motivate, mount, move, obtain, overexcite, pep up, perk up, pique, procure, prod, prompt, provoke, quicken, raise, raise up, rally, redouble, rise, secure, set astir, set fire to, set on fire, shake up, snap up, steam up, stimulate, stir, stir the blood, stir the embers, stir the feelings, stir up, summon forth, summon up, turn on, vitalize, vivify, wake, wake up, waken, wangle, wangle out of, warm, warm the blood, whet, whip up, winkle out, work into, work up, worm out, worm out of, zip up