arouse

1 call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses); "arouse pity"; "raise a smile"; "evoke sympathy" [syn: elicit, enkindle, kindle, evoke, fire, raise, provoke]

2 stop sleeping; "She woke up to the sound of the alarm clock" [syn: wake up, awake, awaken, wake, come alive, waken] [ant: fall asleep]

3 evoke or call forth, with or as if by magic; "raise the specter of unemployment"; "he conjured wild birds in the air"; "stir a disturbance"; "call down the spirits from the mountain" [syn: raise, conjure, conjure up, invoke, evoke, stir, call down, bring up, put forward, call forth]

4 cause to be alert and energetic; "Coffee and tea stimulate me"; "This herbal infusion doesn't stimulate" [syn: stimulate, brace, energize, energise, perk up] [ant: de-energize, de-energize, sedate]

5 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] [ant: cause to sleep]

6 to begin moving, "As the thunder started the sleeping children began to stir" [syn: stir]

7 stimulate sexually; "This movie usually arouses the male audience" [syn: sex, excite, turn on, wind up]

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aʊz

Verb

1. To stimulate feelings.

   The new building proposals in the village are arousing unneeded discomfort.

2. To sexually stimulate

   I can't keep my eyes off the dancer, she arouses me greatly.

See also

• arousal
• aroused

Translations

aggravate, agitate, alarm, alert, anger, animate, annoy, awake, awaken, bestir, blow the coals, blow up, bring forth, bring out, bring to light, bristle, call forth, call out, call up, chafe, challenge, cry havoc, cry wolf, deduce, derive, drag out, draw forth, draw out, dynamize, educe, electrify, elicit, embitter, encourage, energize, enkindle, enliven, enrage, evoke, exasperate, excite, exhilarate, fan, fan the fire, fan the flame, feed the fire, ferment, fire, flame, fly storm warnings, foment, foster, frenzy, fret, frighten, galvanize, get from, get out of, hearten, heat, heat up, huff, impassion, incense, incite, induce, inflame, infuriate, instigate, invigorate, irritate, jazz up, key up, kindle, knock up, lather up, light the fuse, light up, liven, madden, miff, move, nettle, obtain, overexcite, peeve, pep up, perk up, pique, procure, provoke, put up to, quicken, raise, raise up, rally, rankle, revive, rile, roil, rouse, ruffle, secure, set astir, set fire to, set on, set on fire, set up, shake up, sic on, snap up, sound the alarm, sound the tocsin, spark, startle, steam up, stimulate, stir, stir the blood, stir the embers, stir the feelings, stir up, summon forth, summon up, thrill, tickle, turn on, vex, vitalize, wake, wake up, waken, wangle, wangle out of, warm, warm the blood, warn, whet, whip up, winkle out, work into, work up, worm out, worm out of, zip up