AskDefine | Define awake

Dictionary Definition

awake adj
1 not in a state of sleep; completely conscious; "lay awake thinking about his new job"; "still not fully awake" [syn: awake(p)] [ant: asleep(p)]
2 not unconscious; especially having become conscious; "the patient is now awake and alert" [syn: alert, awake(p)]
3 (usually followed by `to') showing acute awareness; mentally perceptive; "alert to the problems"; "alive to what is going on"; "awake to the dangers of her situation"; "was now awake to the reality of his predicament" [syn: alert, alive(p), awake(p)] v : stop sleeping; "She woke up to the sound of the alarm clock" [syn: wake up, arouse, awaken, wake, come alive, waken] [ant: fall asleep] [also: awoken, awoke]

User Contributed Dictionary

English

Etymology

From Middle English awaken, from Old English awacan, from a- (intensive prefix) + wacan (wake).

Pronunciation

  • /əˈweɪk/
  • Rhymes: -eɪk

Adjective

(predicative only)
  1. not asleep; conscious.
  2. acquainted with, knowing the business.

Verb

  1. to become conscious after having slept.
  2. to cause somebody to stop sleeping.
  3. to excite or to stir up something latent.

Translations

adj. conscious
v. to gain consciousness
v. to cause someone to stop sleeping
v. to excite something latent
v. (to be checked)

Antonyms

Synonyms

References

  • American Heritage 2000
  • Dictionary.com
  • WordNet 2003

Extensive Definition

Wakefulness refers to the state of being awake and is the behavioral manifestation of the metabolic state of catabolism. It is the daily recurring period in an organism's life during which consciousness, awareness and all behaviors necessary for survival, i.e., success in (Communication, ambulation, nutritional ingestion and procreation), are conducted. Being awake is the opposite of being asleep a behavioral manifestation of the daily recurring metabolic state of anabolism. Animals can eat and run, fly, swim or walk while awake; humans can also talk, listen, write, read, perform arithmetic, and productively think and work in the awake state.
It is self-evident that the behaviors which take place while an organism is awake are necessary, complex and diverse. As sleep is biologically essential, an excess of time spent awake is considered sleep deprivation, and there are serious physiological and psychological consequences both for individual stretches of wakefulness and serial preference for wakeful activity rather than sleep.
awake in Portuguese: Acordar
awake in Simple English: Awake
awake in Yiddish: וואַך

Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words

activate, agile, alert, alive, animate, annoy, apprehensive, arouse, aroused, attentive, au courant, awake to, awaken, awaken to, be begotten, be born, be incarnated, blow the coals, blow up, bright, call forth, call up, clear-sighted, clear-witted, clearheaded, cognizant, come alive, come into being, come into existence, come to, come to life, conscious, conversant, enkindle, enrage, excite, excited, fan, fan the fire, fan the flame, feed the fire, fire, flame, foment, frenzy, get up, heat, heedful, ignite, impassion, incense, incite, inflame, infuriate, keen, key up, kindle, knock up, knowing, lather up, light the fuse, light up, live again, madden, move, nimble, on guard, on the, on the alert, on the ball, on the job, overexcite, prompt, qui vive, quick, quicken, ready, realize, reanimate, resurge, resuscitate, return to life, revive, rise again, rouse, roused, see the light, sensible, sentient, set astir, set fire to, set on fire, shake up, sharp, sleepless, smart, steam up, stimulate, stir, stir the blood, stir the embers, stir the feelings, stir up, stirred up, summon up, turn on, unblinking, understand, unnodding, unsleeping, unwinking, up, up and about, vigilant, wake, wake up, wakeful, waken, warm, warm the blood, watchful, whip up, wide awake, wide-awake, work into, work up
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