arouse

Etymology

a- +‎ rouse.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈɹaʊz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊz

Verb

arouse (third-person singular simple present arouses, present participle arousing, simple past and past participle aroused)

1. To stimulate feelings.

   The new building proposals in the village are arousing unneeded discomfort.

   to arouse compassion;  to arouse jealousy; to arouse anger

   • 1907, Robert William Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set (Project Gutenberg; EBook #14852), New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, published 1 February 2005 (Project Gutenberg version), OCLC 24962326:

     “ My tastes,” he said, still smiling, “ incline me to the garishly sunlit side of this planet.” And, to tease her and arouse her to combat : “ I prefer a farandole to a nocturne ; I'd rather have a painting than an etching ; Mr. Whistler bores me with his monochromatic mud; I don't like dull colours, dull sounds, dull intellects; […].”

   • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 5, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad:

     She removed Stranleigh’s coat with a dexterity that aroused his imagination.

   • 1967, Sleigh, Barbara, Jessamy, 1993 edition, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, →ISBN, page 96:

     His unruly hair was slicked down with water, and as Jessamy introduced him to Miss Brindle his face assumed a cherubic innocence which would immediately have aroused the suspicions of anyone who knew him.

2. To sexually stimulate.

   I can't keep my eyes off the dancer; she arouses me greatly.

3. (euphemistic) To cause an erection of the penis or other physical signs of sexual arousal, such as fluid secretion.

   I can't wear wool underwear: it tends to arouse me at inappropriate times.

4. To wake from sleep or stupor.

   She was snoring and nothing would arouse her.

Anagrams

• Roseau