MEANING
1. To wake someone or bring them out of inactivity.
2. To provoke or awaken an emotion, interest, or collective response.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- rouse from sleep
- rouse a household
On the page
The knocking roused the entire household.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- rouse
- Past tense
- roused
- Past participle
- roused
- Present participle
- rousing
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- rouse
- Present continuous
- am/is/are rousing
- Present perfect
- have/has roused
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been rousing
- Past
- roused
- Past continuous
- was/were rousing
- Past perfect
- had roused
- Past perfect continuous
- had been rousing
- Future
- will rouse
- Future continuous
- will be rousing
- Future perfect
- will have roused
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been rousing
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: rouse; rouses; roused; roused; rousing Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description, character, dialogue. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: rouses.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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