ENGLISH
REFERENCE

awake

v. · adj.
US //əˈweɪk// UK //ɐwˈeɪk// awake
Irregular verb past awoke past participle awoken
  1. 1 to stop sleeping (v.)
    B1 Intermediate

    to wake up, or to make someone else wake up.

    to cease sleeping or to rouse someone from sleep. While 'wake up' is more common in speech, 'awake' is often preferred in written or slightly more formal contexts.

    Example

    He usually awakes at six in the morning without needing an alarm.

    Example

    The campers were awoken by the sound of heavy rain drumming against the canvas of their tent.

    Usage

    The past tense is 'awoke' and the past participle is 'awoken'.
    • fall asleep
  2. 2 to stir up a feeling (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Literary

    to start feeling an emotion or to make a memory return.

    to excite, stir up, or rouse a latent feeling, memory, or state of being.

    Example

    The old song started to awake memories of her childhood summers.

    Example

    The sight of the abandoned playground awoke a profound sense of nostalgia in the elderly man as he walked through his old neighbourhood.
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  1. 3 aware or alert (adj.)
    C1 Advanced Literary Formal

    being aware of something, like a danger or a new idea.

    alert or aware; often used figuratively to describe a state of mental or spiritual readiness.

    Example

    The government needs to stay awake to the risks of climate change.

    Example

    The philosopher argued that one must remain awake to the subtle injustices present in everyday social interactions.
Etymology 1

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ud-s-? Proto-Indo-European *h₂u-s-? Proto-Germanic *uz- Proto-West Germanic *uʀ- Old English ar- Old English ā- Proto-Indo-European *weǵ-der. Proto-Germanic *wakaną Proto-West Germanic *wakan Old English wacan Old English āwacan Middle English awaken Middle English awake English awake From Middle English awake, a shortened form of awaken (“awakened, awake”), past participle of Middle English awaken (“to awaken”). See verb below. Compare Saterland Frisian woak (“awake”), German Low German waak (“awake”), German wach (“awake”).

Etymology 2

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ud-s-? Proto-Indo-European *h₂u-s-? Proto-Germanic *uz- Proto-West Germanic *uʀ- Old English ar- Old English ā- Proto-Indo-European *weǵ-der. Proto-Germanic *wakaną Proto-West Germanic *wakan Old English wacan Old English āwacan Middle English awaken English awake From Middle English awaken and awakien, from Old English āwacan and āwacian. By surface analysis, a- + wake.

Idioms1 entry

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