rouse
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
to bring out of a state of sleep, unconsciousness, inactivity, fancied security, apathy, depression, etc..
He was roused to action by courageous words.
-
to stir or incite to strong indignation or anger.
-
to cause (game) to start from a covert or lair.
-
Nautical Now Rare. to pull by main strength; haul.
verb (used without object)
-
to come out of a state of sleep, unconsciousness, inactivity, apathy, depression, etc.
-
to start up from a covert or lair, as game.
noun
-
a rousing.
-
a signal for rousing; reveille.
noun
-
Archaic. a carouse.
-
Obsolete. a bumper of liquor.
verb
-
to bring (oneself or another person) out of sleep, unconsciousness, etc, or (of a person) to come to consciousness in this way
-
(tr) to provoke, stir, or excite
to rouse someone's anger
-
to become active or energetic
-
hunting to start or cause to start from cover
to rouse game birds
-
(intr) falconry (of hawks) to ruffle the feathers and cause them to stand briefly on end (a sign of contentment)
-
to speak scoldingly or rebukingly (to)
noun
noun
-
an alcoholic drink, esp a full measure
-
another word for carousal
Related Words
See incite.
Other Word Forms
- rousedness noun
- rouser noun
- unroused adjective
Etymology
Origin of rouse1
First recorded in 1425–75 in sense “(of a hawk) to shake the feathers”; 1525–35 rouse 1 for def. 3; origin uncertain
Origin of rouse2
First recorded in 1590–1600; perhaps variant of carouse ( drink carouse being wrongly analyzed as drink a rouse )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There was yelling and booing and people crying, it was big and rousing, boring and absurd.
“She roused her feathers and soon after, more tea kettle whistles came,” the nonprofit wrote in the post.
From Los Angeles Times
I hope that by the time Munich comes around next year, Western leaders will have been roused from their state of hibernation and are building a new architecture of global freedom.
It did rouse huge cheers in the room.
From Los Angeles Times
That convention was also where Jackson forever secured his place within the party’s center with his rousing speech urging its old guard to embrace a broader multicultural spectrum, including the queer community.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
