From Middle English awakenen or awaknen, from Old English awæcnan or awæcnian, from a- plus wæcnan or wæcnian.

• IPA: /əˈweɪkən/

awaken (awakens, present participle awakening; simple past and past participle awakened) (but see usage notes)

1. (transitive) To cause to become awake.

   She awakened him by ringing the bell.

2. (intransitive) To stop sleeping; awake.

   Each morning he awakens with a smile on his face.

3. (transitive, figurative) To bring into action (something previously dormant); to stimulate.

   Awaken your entrepreneurial spirit!

   We hope to awaken your interest in our programme.

4. (theology) To call to a sense of sin.
5. (rare) Past participle of awake
   • 1665, Robert Hooke, Micrographia:

     [This ant] I ſuffered to lye above an hour in the Spirit; and after I had taken it out, and put its body and legs into a natural poſture, remained moveleſs about an hour; but then , upon a ſudden, as if it had been awaken out of a drunken ſleep, it ſuddenly reviv'd and ran away...

6. (transitive, figurative) To cause to become aware.
7. (intransitive, figurative) To become aware.

   I suddenly awoke to the possibilities of the new invention.

• (transitive, to cause to become awake) knock up, uprouse; see also Thesaurus:awaken
• (intransitive, to stop sleeping) awake, stir; see also Thesaurus:wake
• (to bring into action) animate, energize; see also Thesaurus:enliven

• (antonym(s) of “stop sleeping”): fall asleep

• French: réveiller
• German: aufwecken, wecken
• Italian: svegliare
• Portuguese: acordar, despertar
• Russian: буди́ть
• Spanish: despertar

• French: se réveiller
• German: aufwachen, erwachen, wach werden
• Italian: svegliarsi
• Portuguese: acordar, despertar
• Russian: просыпа́ться
• Spanish: despertarse

• German: erwachen, wecken
• Portuguese: acordar
• Russian: пробужда́ть
• Spanish: despertar