Rouse

/ˈɹaʊz/ · noun

Meaning

An arousal..

Definitions by Sense

1. An arousal.
2. (military, British and Canada) The sounding of a bugle in the morning after reveille, to signal that soldiers are to rise from bed, often the rouse.
3. (transitive) To wake (someone) from sleep, or from apathy.
4. (intransitive) To be awoken from sleep, or from apathy.
5. To cause, stir up, excite (a feeling, thought, etc.).
6. To provoke (someone) to action or anger.
7. To cause to start from a covert or lurking place.
8. (nautical) To pull by main strength; to haul.

Example Sentences

John Hedley was Locomotive Foreman at Beattock. He was in bed, but they roused him, and he gave orders for one of his pilot engines to go up to the summit, get Mitchell's train, and take it to Carlisle.

Dubin slept through the ringing alarm, aware of Kitty trying to rouse him and then letting him sleep.

Good things of day begin to droop and drowse; Night’s black agents to their preys do rouse.

As for the heat, with which he treated his other adversaries, ’twas sometimes strain’d a little too far, but in the general was extremely well fitted by the Providence of God to rowse up a people, the most phlegmatic of any in Christendome.

At Musick, Melancholy lifts her Head; Dull Morpheus rowzes from his Bed;

to rouse the faculties, passions, or emotions

[…] their first Step in Dangers, after the common Efforts are over, was always to despair, lie down under it, and die, without rousing their Thoughts up to proper Remedies for Escape.

‘You may think it all very fine, Mr. Huntingdon, to amuse yourself with rousing my jealousy; but take care you don’t rouse my hate instead. And when you have once extinguished my love, you will find it no easy matter to kindle it again.’

Synonyms for rouse

Antonyms for rouse

Related Words

Word Forms

• rouses
• rouze
• rousing
• roused

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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