arouse

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English

Etymology

a- +‎ rouse.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /əˈɹaʊz/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -aʊz

Verb

arouse (third-person singular simple present arouses, present participle arousing, simple past and past participle aroused)

  1. (transitive) To stimulate or induce (feelings).
    to arouse compassion, jealousy, or anger
    • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
      “My tastes,” he said, still smiling, “incline me to the garishly sunlit side of this planet.” And, to tease her and arouse her to combat: “I prefer a farandole to a nocturne ; I'd rather have a painting than an etching ; Mr. Whistler bores me with his monochromatic mud; I don't like dull colours, dull sounds, dull intellects; […].”
    • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 5, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad:
      She removed Stranleigh’s coat with a dexterity that aroused his imagination.
    • 1967, Barbara Sleigh, Jessamy, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, published 1993, →ISBN, page 96:
      His unruly hair was slicked down with water, and as Jessamy introduced him to Miss Brindle his face assumed a cherubic innocence which would immediately have aroused the suspicions of anyone who knew him.
  2. (transitive) To sexually stimulate.
    • 2006, Donald J. Young, Dancing by the Shore, page 12:
      […] grinding against their partners like burlesque performers, which even in parody Terry found erotic—reminding him of the Persian belly dancer he'd seen at the college, whose sensual dancing aroused him despite her claim of high art.
    1. (transitive, euphemistic) To cause an erection of the penis or other physical signs of sexual arousal, such as fluid secretion.
      I can't wear wool underwear: it tends to arouse me at inappropriate times.
  3. (transitive) To wake from sleep or stupor; to rouse.
    • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
      He kenned not whether it was devil or mortal, but flung himself on the roadside and lay like a corp for an hour or more, till the rain aroused him.
    • 1996, Beruga (line translated by Dan Owsen), Terranigma. Nintendo of America.
      I have no idea who you are, but I thank you for arousing me.

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