Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin: awæcnian, from wæcnian; WAKEN

awaken

 verb
     
a‧wak‧en formal
1 [intransitive and transitive] to wake up or to make someone wake up:
She was awakened by a noise at two in the morning.
Bill slept a little until he was awakened to take his turn on guard.
2 [transitive] if something awakens an emotion, interest, memory etc it makes you suddenly begin to feel that emotion etc:
Early involvement in music can awaken an interest that will last a lifetime.

awaken somebody ↔ to something

phrasal verb
to make someone understand a situation and its possible effects:
We must awaken people to the dangers for the environment.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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