EN

Synonyms for wake

  • verb
  • noun

Most common

stir up fire up provoke set fire to waken awaken start keep watch

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

1. Stir up — to put in motion or action; to arouse; to excite

stir up, stir formal, fire up, provoke, set fire to, set on fire, whip up, fire, excite, kindle, inflame, ignite, stimulate, evoke, quicken, heat, incite, foment, whet, move dated, enkindle dated, suscitate dated

2. Waken — (often followed by up) To make somebody stop sleeping; to rouse from sleep

waken, awaken, awake, rouse, arouse, call, knock up UK, come alive, arise

3. Startle — to be excited or roused up; to be stirred up from a dormant, torpid, or inactive state; to be active

start, startle

4. Keep watch — to be alert; to keep watch

keep watch, watch, vigil, invigilate rare, bewake rare

Other

stay up

Noun

1. Aftermath

aftermath, back wash

Other

wake-up, track, get-up, work-up, trace, trail, flock, dirge, viewing

Antonyms

sleep, slumber

All antonyms of wake →

Definitions

  1. v. 1

    (often followed by up) To make somebody stop sleeping; to rouse from sleep.

    The neighbour's car alarm woke me from a strange dream.

  2. v. 2

    To put in motion or action; to arouse; to excite.

  3. v. 3

    To be excited or roused up; to be stirred up from a dormant, torpid, or inactive state; to be active.

  4. n. 1

    A period after a person's death before or after the body is buried, cremated, etc.; in some cultures accompanied by a party or collectively sorting through the deceased's personal effects.

Related words

Word family
wakeful wakeless wake-over waker wake-robin wakesome wake-up wakefulness
Phrases
wake-up wake the dead wake word

Forms

Plural
wakes → aftermaths, wake-ups, tracks, get-ups…
Past participle
waked
e.g. waked → stirred, provoked, fired, excited…

Example sentences

  • awaken The cock and the other birds awaken me in the morning.
  • waken I didn't expect you to be waken up so early in the morning.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
wakerising
awakenrising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters
call1, fire2, move1, heat1, stir1, whet1
5 letters
start1, watch1, track1, trail1, trace1, awake2, arise2, flock1, evoke2, vigil2, rouse1, dirge1, waken2
6 letters
kindle2, ignite2, awaken3, excite2, incite2, arouse2, foment2, bewake
7 letters
viewing2, provoke2, quicken2, startle2, inflame2
8 letters
enkindle
9 letters
aftermath3, stimulate3, suscitate
10 letters
invigilate

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (fire2 = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français
éveiller
Italiano
svegliare
Español
despertar
Deutsch
aufwecken