Meaning & use
aroused
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Stirred into strong feeling or alertness, as with interest or anger.
Grammar: After be or feel: aroused suspicion.
Patterns
- be aroused by something
Her curiosity was aroused by the strange noise.
The crowd grew aroused as the speech went on.
adjectivecomparable
Feeling sexual desire or excitement.
Grammar: After be or feel.
Patterns
- feel aroused
The study measured how aroused the volunteers felt.
He felt aroused and embarrassed.
verbtransitive
Past tense and past participle of arouse: woke or stirred up.
Grammar: Takes an object: the noise aroused him.
Patterns
- aroused someone from something
The alarm aroused the whole house.
His remarks aroused anger.
Word forms
| base form | arouse |
|---|
Common combinations
- aroused suspicion
- The delay aroused suspicion.
- aroused curiosity
- The package aroused her curiosity.
- aroused interest
- The talk aroused wide interest.
- aroused from sleep
- He was aroused from sleep.
Synonyms and how they differ
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: aroused or roused?
aroused vs roused
Roused is a close synonym meaning woken up.
Practice
The strange noise ___ the neighbors' suspicion.
Choose one answer.
Aroused suspicion is the standard pairing. Arisen is intransitive and cannot take an object.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “aroused”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.