Definition

1. Verb:
   • To cause someone to wake up from sleep: To make a sleeping person become conscious and alert.
   • To stir someone to action or feeling: To provoke a strong emotional or active response, such as excitement, anger, or enthusiasm.
   • To force out or drive from a place: To cause someone or something to leave a resting or hiding place.
   • To become active or alert: (Used reflexively as "rouse oneself") To make oneself stop being idle or inactive.

Usage

The verb "rouse" is typically transitive, requiring a direct object (e.g., rouse someone, rouse the crowd). It can also be used reflexively (rouse oneself). It often describes a sudden or forceful transition from a state of rest, sleep, or passivity to one of wakefulness, activity, or strong emotion.

Examples

• To wake someone up:
  • The alarm clock failed to rouse him from his deep sleep.
  • She was roused by the sound of thunder in the middle of the night.
• To stir to action or emotion:
  • The leader's speech roused the nation to defend its freedom.
  • His unfair comments roused my anger.
• To force out from a place:
  • The hunters roused a deer from the thicket.
  • The police roused the suspect from his hiding place.
• To become active (reflexive):
  • After lunch, he struggled to rouse himself and get back to work.

Advanced Usage

• "Rouse from": To awaken or stir someone from a specific state.
  • It took several minutes to rouse her from her daydream.
• "Rouse to": To incite or provoke someone to a particular action or state.
  • The injustice roused the community to protest.

Variants and Related Words

• Rousing (adjective): Exciting and inspiring.
  • The team gave a rousing performance in the final match.
• Arousal (noun): The act of arousing or the state of being aroused, often used in contexts of emotion, interest, or physiological wakefulness.
  • The movie was designed for emotional arousal.

Synonyms

• Awaken: To wake up.
• Stir: To provoke gently into action or feeling.
• Provoke: To stimulate a reaction, often a strong or angry one.
• Agitate: To excite or disturb emotionally.
• Bestir (oneself): To exert or rouse oneself to action.

Phrasal Verbs

• Rouse out: (Less common) To force or drive out. Similar to "rout out."
  • They managed to rouse out the old records from the dusty archive.

Related Idioms

• Rouse the rabble: To incite a crowd or group of people, often to disorder or protest.
  • The fiery orator knew how to rouse the rabble with his speeches.

Verb

1. cause to become awake or conscious
   • He was roused by the drunken men in the street
   • Please wake me at 6 AM.
2. cause to be agitated, excited, or roused
   • The speaker charged up the crowd with his inflammatory remarks
3. force or drive out
   • The police routed them out of bed at 2 A.M.
4. become active
   • He finally bestirred himself