rouse1

[rouz] /raʊz/
verb (used with object), roused, rousing.
1.
to bring out of a state of sleep, unconsciousness, inactivity, fancied security, apathy, depression, etc.:
He was roused to action by courageous words.
2.
to stir or incite to strong indignation or anger.
3.
to cause (game) to start from a covert or lair.
4.
Nautical. to pull by main strength; haul.
verb (used without object), roused, rousing.
5.
to come out of a state of sleep, unconsciousness, inactivity, apathy, depression, etc.
6.
to start up from a covert or lair, as game.
noun
7.
a rousing.
8.
a signal for rousing; reveille.
Origin
1480-90 in sense “(of a hawk) to shake the feathers”; 1525-35 for def 3; origin uncertain
Related forms
rousedness
[rou-zid-nis] /ˈraʊ zɪd nɪs/ (Show IPA), noun
rouser, noun
unroused, adjective
Synonyms
1. arouse, stir, excite, animate, stimulate, awaken, kindle, inflame, fire. 1, 2. See incite. 2. provoke, anger.
Antonyms
1, 2. lull, calm, pacify.

rouse2

[rouz] /raʊz/
noun
1.
Archaic. a carouse.
2.
Obsolete. a bumper of liquor.
Origin
1595-1605; perhaps variant of carouse (drink carouse being wrongly analyzed as drink a rouse)
Examples from the web for rouse
  • Thoughts and deeds of the present, our rouse and early start.
  • After all, the vibrations need to be significant enough to rouse a mobile's owner, and creating them produces sound.
  • His campaign had failed to rouse the country, and he seemed embittered and out of touch.
  • The grouper would need to do something to rouse the eel's attention.
  • Furthermore the city council may be trying to rouse a sleeping giant.
  • She could not rouse herself to go to work in the marketing business she founded and ran, or even get through the newspaper.
  • The clamor in the house, and his dread over where his gun may have ended up, finally rouse him.
  • Later, the physical therapist could barely rouse her to do the critical rehab on her brand-new hip.
  • Teenagers are notoriously difficult to rouse in the mornings.
  • When he does, he appears to rouse himself as if returning from a different planet.
British Dictionary definitions for rouse

rouse1

/raʊz/
verb
1.
to bring (oneself or another person) out of sleep, unconsciousness, etc, or (of a person) to come to consciousness in this way
2.
(transitive) to provoke, stir, or excite: to rouse someone's anger
3.
rouse oneself, to become active or energetic
4.
(hunting) to start or cause to start from cover: to rouse game birds
5.
(intransitive) (falconry) (of hawks) to ruffle the feathers and cause them to stand briefly on end (a sign of contentment)
6.
(Austral) (raʊs), (intransitive) foll by on. to speak scoldingly or rebukingly (to)
noun
7.
(mainly US) another term for reveille
Derived Forms
rousedness (ˈraʊzɪdnɪs) noun
Word Origin
C15 (in sense 5): origin obscure

rouse2

/raʊz/
noun (archaic)
1.
an alcoholic drink, esp a full measure
2.
another word for carousal
Word Origin
C17: probably a variant of carouse (as in the phrase drink a rouse, erroneous for drink carouse); compare Danish drikke en rus to become drunk, German Rausch drunkenness
Word Origin and History for rouse
v.

mid-15c., intransitive probably from Anglo-French or Old French reuser, ruser, originally used in English of hawks shaking the feathers of the body, but like many hawking terms it is of obscure origin. Figurative meaning "to stir up, provoke to activity" is from 1580s; that of "awaken" is first recorded 1590s. Related: Roused; rousing.