🇺🇸
/ˈoʊ.kən/
🇺🇸
/ˈoʊ.kən/
🇬🇧
/ˈoʊ.kən/
🇬🇧
/ˈoʊ.kən/
Past Tense
awoke
Past Participle
awoken
Gerund
awakening
3rd Person
awakens
Awoken is the past participle of 'awake', meaning 'has been awakened' — it describes someone or something that has just come out of sleep, unconsciousness, or a dormant state. It often carries a sense of abruptness, surprise, or profound realization, like being jolted awake by noise or suddenly understanding a truth.
She was awoken by the sound of thunder crashing outside her window.
The ancient artifact seemed awoken after centuries of silence, radiating an eerie energy.
He felt awoken to social injustice only after volunteering in the community.
The forest was awoken at dawn by the chorus of birds singing in unison.
They had been awoken mid-sentence when the fire alarm blared through the building.
wak
Comes from the Old English verb 'wacan' (to wake, arise) and its related strong verb class, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wakōną ('to become awake') and Proto-Indo-European *weg- ('to be lively, alert, strong'). It conveys the core idea of emerging from sleep or unconsciousness, gaining awareness, or becoming active. Examples include awake, awaken, awoken, awakening, wake, waken, and even watch (via semantic shift from 'being awake' to 'vigilance').