1
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as in to awake
to cease to be asleep
she usually wakens when sunlight begins to stream through the windows
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of waken
However, my condo association includes several dozen inland three-story condominium buildings, which means that the chance that our residents will be wakened by their building collapsing around them is near zero.
—
Bruce Strom, Sun Sentinel, 6 Apr. 2025
More than that, there is obvious attraction — Mags has a bisexual side that suddenly wakens from long slumber.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Feb. 2025
The dogs were asleep in their kennels at the time and wakened only when the would-be thief was discovered by the staff.
—Anne F. Thurston, Foreign Affairs, 23 Feb. 2016
As the world—wakened by the recent terrorist attacks in Baghdad, Beirut, Paris, and now in California and London, too—struggles to defeat the Islamic State (also called ISIS), the answer is more important than ever.
—Jacob Olidort, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2015
Or later consciousness resurfaces in the morning on my return to the wakening world.
—Christof Koch, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2017
Two easy arm swing stretches to waken your shoulders after hours hunched over computers and phones.
—Jonathan Beverly, Outside Online, 19 May 2020
The startling display of acrobatics came, according to police, on Oct. 19, after homeowners in the 700 block of Pershing Drive in Silver Spring were wakened about 2:15 a.m. by the sound of a door.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2019
Before the Sword, by Grace Lin Mulan crept into her house, even though the Rabbit had told her the villagers would not waken even with the loudest of noises.
—David Canfield, EW.com, 24 Oct. 2019
Bruce Strom, Sun Sentinel, 6 Apr. 2025
More than that, there is obvious attraction — Mags has a bisexual side that suddenly wakens from long slumber.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Feb. 2025
The dogs were asleep in their kennels at the time and wakened only when the would-be thief was discovered by the staff.
—Anne F. Thurston, Foreign Affairs, 23 Feb. 2016
As the world—wakened by the recent terrorist attacks in Baghdad, Beirut, Paris, and now in California and London, too—struggles to defeat the Islamic State (also called ISIS), the answer is more important than ever.
—Jacob Olidort, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2015
Or later consciousness resurfaces in the morning on my return to the wakening world.
—Christof Koch, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2017
Two easy arm swing stretches to waken your shoulders after hours hunched over computers and phones.
—Jonathan Beverly, Outside Online, 19 May 2020
The startling display of acrobatics came, according to police, on Oct. 19, after homeowners in the 700 block of Pershing Drive in Silver Spring were wakened about 2:15 a.m. by the sound of a door.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2019
Before the Sword, by Grace Lin Mulan crept into her house, even though the Rabbit had told her the villagers would not waken even with the loudest of noises.
—David Canfield, EW.com, 24 Oct. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waken
Verb
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Investors are slowly waking to the opportunities created by China’s ban on the export of rare earths but a modest uptick in the share prices of non-Chinese miners of the material could be just the start of something much bigger.—
Tim Treadgold,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
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As Pennsylvania State Police were searching for the arsonist, troopers woke Gov. Josh Shapiro around 2 a.m. so that he, his wife, their four children, two dogs and another family could be evacuated.—
Jade Walker,
CNN Money,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Alex later awakes in the back seat to discover the vehicle has stopped, and the British man is no longer behind the wheel.—
Matt Cabral,
EW.com,
30 Mar. 2025
-
McCullers awoke at 5:30 a.m. for a game that started 13 hours later.—
Chandler Rome,
The Athletic,
19 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Shapiro said his family and guests were awakened by state troopers banging on their doors at around 2 a.m. on Sunday.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Apr. 2025
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Shapiro said he, his wife, their four children, two dogs and another family that had celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover at the residence Saturday were awakened by state troopers about 2 a.m.—
Marc Levy,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Apr. 2025
Verb
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There was no respite for the Ducks between their rousing rally to defeat the Calgary Flames on Wednesday and their 6-1 drubbing at the hands of the Kings on Thursday.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
12 Apr. 2025
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Roan, after her rousing speech at the 67th Grammy Awards, donated $25,000 to struggling artists to Backline, a non-profit organization that provides mental health and wellness resources to professionals in the music industry.—
Taylor Crumpton,
Time,
11 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Waken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waken. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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