arouse

Verb

Verb Forms: aroused, arousing, arouses

• To evoke or awaken a feeling, emotion, or response.
• call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses)
  • "arouse pity"
• stop sleeping
• summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic
• cause to be alert and energetic
• cause to become awake or conscious
• to begin moving,
• stimulate sexually
  • "This movie usually arouses the male audience"
• To stimulate or induce (feelings); pique.
• To sexually stimulate.
• To sexually stimulate.
• To cause an erection of the penis or other physical signs of sexual arousal, such as fluid secretion.
• To wake from sleep or stupor; to rouse.

Examples

• His clever placement of QUIXOTRY managed to arouse both envy and admiration.
• I can't wear wool underwear: it tends to arouse me at inappropriate times.
• to arouse compassion, jealousy, or anger

Synonyms

awake, awaken, brace, bring up, call down, call forth, come alive, conjure, conjure up, elicit, energise, energize, enkindle, evoke, excite, fire, invoke, kindle, perk up, provoke, put forward, raise, rouse, sex, stimulate, stir, turn on, wake, wake up, waken, wind up, animate, arouse, beghast, bright, brighten, bring round, cheer, cry, enliven, enthuse, exalt, fire up, ginger, ginger up, inflame, inspire, inspirit, invigorate, jazz, knock up, liven, liven up, quicken, roust, sex up, spice, spice up, uprouse, vitalise

Antonyms

cause to sleep, de-energise, de-energize, fall asleep, sedate

Related Words

arousal, aroused