# aroused

/ɝˈaʊzd/ (US) · /ɐɹˈaʊzd/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/aroused
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. sexually excited

adjective · CEFR B2

feeling sexually excited.

For teachers: physiologically and psychologically stimulated in a sexual manner.

- He felt aroused after they spent the evening talking and laughing together.
- The novel's descriptive passages were intended to leave the reader feeling aroused, though contemporary critics found the prose somewhat heavy-handed.

Usage: Commonly used in both medical and casual contexts to describe sexual response.

### 2. emotionally stirred up

adjective · CEFR C1 · Formal · Academic

having strong feelings like anger, curiosity, or interest woken up.

For teachers: having specific emotions or physiological responses awakened or stimulated.

- The public's curiosity was aroused by the mysterious news reports.
- The speaker's controversial remarks left the audience with their passions thoroughly aroused, leading to a heated debate during the Q&A session.

Teaching tip: In modern English, this sense is often replaced by 'provoked' or 'stirred' unless referring specifically to 'curiosity' or 'suspicion'.

### 3. past action of waking or stirring

verb · CEFR B2

the past tense of 'arouse', meaning to wake someone or start a feeling.

For teachers: the past tense and past participle of the transitive verb 'arouse', meaning to evoke a feeling or to awaken someone from sleep.

- The loud noise outside aroused the sleeping guard.
- The sudden change in the company's stock price aroused suspicion among the federal regulators, who immediately launched an investigation.

Usage: As a verb, it always takes a direct object.

## Examples

- She looked aroused by the exciting news.
- The audience was visibly aroused by the speaker's passionate story about the local history.
- The sudden change in weather aroused a sense of unease among the villagers, who had grown accustomed to the predictable seasons.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.