rouse
To cause to be active or to moveTo cause (something) to be (more) active or to move; to agitate, to stir up.
» The concert was a rousing success.
Meaning
25 senses(transitive)To cause (something) to be (more) active or to move; to agitate, to stir up.
become active
To cause (something) to be (more) active or to move; to agitate, to stir up.
(transitive)To stir (a liquid, especially (brewing) beer in the brewing process).
(transitive)To provoke (someone) to react (for example, in anger or annoyance); to spur; also, to annoy, to tease.
(transitive)Originally chiefly followed by up: to cause (an emotional reaction, a feeling, etc.); to excite, to incite, to stir up.
to rouse the emotions or passions
(transitive)Sometimes followed by up: to disturb (someone) from a state of apathy, comfort, etc.
(also, reflexive, transitive)Sometimes followed by up: to wake (oneself or someone) from deep thought, or rest or sleep; to awaken.
(also, figuratively, reflexive, transitive)To lift up or raise (someone; or something, especially the head).
(reflexive, transitive)Sometimes followed by up: to cause (oneself) to be active or alert; to incite, to stir; also, to cause (oneself) to carry out a task, take action, etc.
(also, figuratively, historical, transitive)To cause (game) to emerge from cover.
to rouse a deer or other animal of the chase
(intransitive)Sometimes followed by up: to carry out a task, take action, etc.
(intransitive)Sometimes followed by up: to wake from deep thought, or rest or sleep; to awaken.
(intransitive)Of a hawk, or (generally) some other bird: to shake its feathers.
Examples
16 sentencesThe concert was a rousing success.
The sound roused her from sleep.
He is a lion when roused.
The cry roused me from my sleep.
The slogan was designed to rouse the people.
Translations
5 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
The verb is derived from Late Middle English rousen (“of a hawk: to shake its feathers”);The verb is derived from Late Middle English rousen (“of a hawk: to shake its feathers”); further etymology unknown. Because many terms of French origin are used in falconry, it has been assumed that the Middle English word is derived from Anglo-Norman or French; however, no satisfactory etymon has been found. The following words have been suggested, but are thought by the Oxford English Dictionary to be unlikely due to the differences in meaning:
Origin uncertain, possibly a variant of one of the following:
An aphetic form of arrouse (“(obsolete) to sprinkle (something) with water or some other liquid; of a river, sea, etc.: to provide (land) with water”), from Late Middle English arouse, arrouse, arowse, arrowse, from Anglo-Norman arouser, aruser, Middle French arouser, arrouser, and Old French aroser (“to sprinkle (something) with water or some other liquid; to make (something) wet, soak”) (modern French arroser), from Late Latin *arrosare, from Latin arrōrāre, adrōrāre, the present active infinitives of arrōrō, adrōrō (“to bedew; to besprinkle, moisten”), from ad- (prefix meaning ‘to, towards’) + rōrō (“to be moist; to drip, trickle”). Rōrō is derived from rōr- (the oblique stem of rōs (“dew; moisture”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rṓs (“dew; liquid, moisture”), possibly from *h₁ers- (“to flow”)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs). Compare Scots rouse (“to sprinkle salt on (fish) in the process of curing; to sprinkle water on (something)”).
Origin unknown.
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Forms
rouses, rousing, roused, rousedSynonyms
141 synonymsWord family
14 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle