Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin: awacan (from wacan) and awacian (from wacian); WAKE1

awake

2 verb
     
awake2 past tense awoke past participle awoken [intransitive and transitive]
1 formal to wake up, or to make someone wake up:
It was midday when she awoke.
We awoke to a day of brilliant sunshine.
2 literary if something awakes an emotion, or if an emotion awakes, you suddenly begin to feel that emotion:
The gesture awoke an unexpected flood of tenderness towards her.

awake something to

phrasal verb
to begin to realize the possible effects of a situation:
Artists finally awoke to the aesthetic possibilities of photography.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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