awaken

/əˈweɪ.kən/

to wake someone up

The loud noise awoke the sleeping baby.

The loud noise caused the sleeping baby to wake up.

general

to wake someone from sleep

The alarm clock awoke him at 6 AM.

The alarm clock caused him to wake up at 6 AM.

Often used in the passive voice ('was awakened').

figurative

to make someone aware of something

The documentary awakened her to the environmental crisis.

The documentary made her aware of the environmental crisis.

Used metaphorically to describe becoming conscious of an issue or emotion.

Collocations

awaken toto become aware ofawaken fromto wake up from

to become aware of the true situation

Remember that 'awaken' can mean both waking up from sleep and becoming aware of something important.

The passive form ('was awakened') is common in formal or literary contexts.

From Middle English 'awaken', from Old English 'onwæcnian', from 'on-' (intensive prefix) + 'wæcnian' (to wake). Related to 'wake'.

Can be used both literally (waking from sleep) and figuratively (becoming aware of something).

intensive prefix

prefix

waken

to wake

root

English Dictionary