aroused; arousing
1
: to awaken from sleep
was aroused from a deep sleep by a loud noise
2
: to stimulate to action or to bodily readiness for activity : excite
a book that has aroused debate
3
: to excite (someone) sexually : to cause sexual arousal in (someone)
… girls whose perfume scent frightened him and aroused him.—
Elizabeth Berg
Elizabeth Berg
: to awake from sleep : stir
Examples of arouse in a Sentence
The report aroused a great deal of public interest.
The husky sound of her voice could always arouse him.
Their proposal is certain to arouse the opposition.
Recent Examples on the Web
For one thing, rather than growing, the pace of homebuilding in California actually slowed after those bills and others designed to grease the skids for new apartments and condominiums failed to arouse much response.
—Thomas Elias, The Mercury News, 24 May 2024
That threat is all the greater because the unchecked power Putin displayed last week aroused such admiration from close associates of Trump, and from the GOP candidate himself.
—Trudy Rubin, Twin Cities, 15 May 2024
Pisces February 19 – March 20 Your desire to make more money could speedily arouse your emotions.
—Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 14 May 2024
As anger sets in, your body becomes physiologically aroused and prepares to fight.
—Stephanie Brown, Verywell Health, 9 May 2024
Unlike the arena, the zoo’s public financing has aroused almost no controversy, at least for the moment.
—Joe Rubin, Sacramento Bee, 8 May 2024
Already bounded by a past tragedy, the working relationship proves to be both messy and arousing.
—Lexy Perez, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 May 2024
The tragic attack on volunteers and your reaction arouse understandable anger.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
The Sativa strain of cannabis will be more useful for female arousal for someone who is just in a funk and needs a little high feeling in their mind to get aroused.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2024
Thomas Elias, The Mercury News, 24 May 2024
That threat is all the greater because the unchecked power Putin displayed last week aroused such admiration from close associates of Trump, and from the GOP candidate himself.
—Trudy Rubin, Twin Cities, 15 May 2024
Pisces February 19 – March 20 Your desire to make more money could speedily arouse your emotions.
—Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 14 May 2024
As anger sets in, your body becomes physiologically aroused and prepares to fight.
—Stephanie Brown, Verywell Health, 9 May 2024
Unlike the arena, the zoo’s public financing has aroused almost no controversy, at least for the moment.
—Joe Rubin, Sacramento Bee, 8 May 2024
Already bounded by a past tragedy, the working relationship proves to be both messy and arousing.
—Lexy Perez, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 May 2024
The tragic attack on volunteers and your reaction arouse understandable anger.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
The Sativa strain of cannabis will be more useful for female arousal for someone who is just in a funk and needs a little high feeling in their mind to get aroused.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'arouse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near arouse
Cite this Entry
“Arouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arouse. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
arouse
transitive verb
aroused; arousing
1
a
: to awake from sleep
b
: to rouse or stimulate to action
c
: to excite (someone) sexually : to cause sexual arousal in (someone)
2
: to give rise to
a response aroused by a stimulus
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