To awaken means to wake up from sleep, or to cause someone or something to wake up. When your alarm clock rings in the morning, it awakens you from your dreams. A parent might gently awaken a child by opening the curtains and letting sunlight fill the room.

The word also describes bringing something to life or awareness that was dormant or hidden. A great teacher can awaken curiosity in students who thought they hated a subject. Reading about space exploration might awaken an interest in astronomy you didn't know you had. When someone says a trip to a museum awakened their love of art, they mean it sparked something inside them that had been sleeping.

Awaken carries a sense of something stirring to life, whether it's a person opening their eyes or an idea beginning to grow. It suggests movement from stillness to activity, from unawareness to awareness. The related word awakening describes this process: a rude awakening means discovering an unpleasant truth you'd been ignoring, while a spiritual awakening means developing a deeper understanding of life's meaning.