awake

[uh-weyk] /əˈweɪk/
verb (used with object), verb (used without object), awoke or awaked, awoke or awaked or awoken, awaking.
1.
to wake up; rouse from sleep:
I awoke at six with a feeling of dread.
2.
to rouse to action; become active:
His flagging interest awoke.
3.
to come or bring to an awareness; become cognizant (often followed by to):
She awoke to the realities of life.
adjective
4.
waking; not sleeping.
5.
vigilant; alert:
They were awake to the danger.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English awaken, Old English awacen, past participle of awæcnan; see a1, waken
Related forms
awakeable, adjective
half-awake, adjective
reawake, verb, reawoke or reawaked, reawaking.
unawake, adjective
unawakeable, adjective
unawaked, adjective
unawaking, adjective
Examples from the web for awake
  • Some insomniacs can't sleep because they are on medications that keep them awake.
  • For the reindeer living there, it might be tempting to sleep away half the year and remain awake throughout the long summer days.
  • Important information acquired while awake may be reprocessed during sleep.
  • All the patients were awake and alert, but with a range of responsiveness.
  • Gauge your arrival time and plan to either sleep or stay awake on the plane accordingly.
  • These people are not merely awake but also partly aware.
  • Fruit flies respond to caffeine by staying awake longer and to antihistamines by going to sleep earlier.
  • If they snack in the middle of the night, they are awake and fully conscious of their actions.
  • While the rest of us sleep, she stays awake and watches.
  • Eating chocolate at night can potentially keep you awake.
British Dictionary definitions for awake

awake

/əˈweɪk/
verb awakes, awaking, awoke, awaked, awoken, awaked
1.
to emerge or rouse from sleep; wake
2.
to become or cause to become alert
3.
(usually foll by to) to become or make aware (of): to awake to reality
4.
(transitive) Also awaken. to arouse (feelings, etc) or cause to remember (memories, etc)
adjective (postpositive)
5.
not sleeping
6.
(sometimes foll by to) lively or alert
wake1
Word Origin
Old English awacian, awacan; see wake1
Word Origin and History for awake
v.

a merger of two Middle English verbs: 1. awaken, from Old English awæcnan (earlier onwæcnan; strong, past tense awoc, past participle awacen) "to awake, arise, originate," from a "on" + wacan "to arise, become awake" (see wake (v.)); and 2. awakien, from Old English awacian (weak, past participle awacode) "to awaken, revive; arise; originate, spring from," from a "on" (see a (2)) + wacian "to be awake, remain awake, watch" (see watch (v.)).

Both originally were intransitive only; the transitive sense being expressed by Middle English awecchen (from Old English aweccan) until later Middle English. In Modern English, the tendency has been to restrict the strong past tense and past participle (awoke, awoken) to the original intransitive sense and the weak inflection (awakened) to the transitive, but this never has been complete (see wake (v.); also cf. awaken).

adj.

"not asleep," c.1300, shortened from awaken, past participle of Old English awæcnan (see awaken).

Related Abbreviations for awake

AWAKE

Alert, Well, and Keeping Energetic Network