awaken

awaken — verb

1. to come out of sleep, or to bring another person out of sleep, often gently or i

1.動詞及物 / 不及物B2
釋義

to come out of sleep, or to bring another person out of sleep, often gently or in a quiet way.

例句

Camille awakened just before dawn and listened to the rain on the roof.

intransitive: awaken at a time of day

The smell of fresh bread awakened Bao from a long, deep sleep.

transitive: noun + awaken + person + from sleep

同義詞
  • wake up

    the everyday phrasal verb; far more common in spoken English

  • awake

    verb form with the same meaning; slightly more common as an adjective

  • rouse

    suggests waking someone with effort, often from a heavy sleep

反義詞
  • fall asleep

    the opposite action: drifting into sleep

  • doze off

    informal: to start sleeping unintentionally

文法句型

awaken (someone)

awaken from + noun

用法筆記

More formal and literary than 'wake up'. Common in novels, news, and written narration; less common in everyday speech, where 'wake up' is the natural choice.

常見錯誤

❌I awaken up at six.
✅I wake up at six.' or ✅ 'I awaken at six.
💡'awaken' is never followed by 'up'.
❌The noise awoken the dog.
✅The noise awakened the dog.' or ✅ 'The noise awoke the dog.
💡'awoken' is the past participle of 'awake', not the past tense of 'awaken'.

2. to cause a feeling, memory, or interest to arise in someone — for example, a son

2.動詞及物 / 不及物C1
釋義

to cause a feeling, memory, or interest to arise in someone — for example, a song bringing back childhood memories, or a teacher sparking curiosity in a student.

例句

The old photograph awakened painful memories of Jin's grandmother.

transitive: thing + awaken + memory/feeling

Mr. Patel's lessons awakened a deep love of poetry in many of his students.

pattern: awaken + feeling + in + person

同義詞
  • stir

    similar but more informal; suggests gently moving feelings

  • arouse

    stronger and more sudden; common with suspicion, anger, interest

  • kindle

    literary; suggests starting a feeling like lighting a small fire

反義詞
  • suppress

    to push a feeling down rather than letting it rise

  • deaden

    to make a feeling weaker or harder to notice

文法句型

awaken + feeling/memory/interest (in someone)

feeling + awaken (in someone)

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense takes an abstract object (memory, feeling, interest) rather than a person or animal. Often appears in formal writing, journalism, and reflective prose.

常見錯誤

❌The film awakened me about climate change.
✅The film awakened my concern about climate change.
💡the object should be the feeling itself, not the person who feels it.
❌The teacher awakened the students interest.
✅The teacher awakened the students' interest.
💡needs the possessive apostrophe, since the interest belongs to the students.