arousal C2+ Topic:Law & Government US /əˈraʊzəl/ UK /əˈraʊzəl/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun the act of awakening or the state of being stirred to activity or excitement The drug increases physiological arousal and alertness. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · the act of awakening or the... awakeningstimulationexcitementstirringincitementkindling ↔ Opposites calmingpacificationsedation Word family Related forms arouserouserousing Etymology AI details From arouse (from a- intensive prefix plus rouse, a word of obscure origin perhaps from Anglo-French) plus the noun suffix -al. Topics Law & Government Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # arousal **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /əˈraʊzəl/ **IPA (UK):** /əˈraʊzəl/ ## Meanings 1. the act of awakening or the state of being stirred to activity or excitement ## Examples - The drug increases physiological arousal and alertness. ## Synonyms - awakening - stimulation - excitement - stirring - incitement - kindling ## Antonyms - calming - pacification - sedation ## Related Forms - arouse - rouse - rousing ## Etymology From arouse (from a- intensive prefix plus rouse, a word of obscure origin perhaps from Anglo-French) plus the noun suffix -al. ## AI Etymology arousal comes from arouse (from a- intensive prefix plus rouse, a word of obscure origin perhaps from Anglo-French) plus the noun suffix -al. Morphologically, the word is transparent: -al is attached to the older base named in the history, so the modern form packages an inherited or borrowed stem inside a later English derivative. In modern use, the noun sense is "the act of awakening or the state of being stirred to activity or excitement", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as arouse, rouse, rousing, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. ## Topics - Law & Government - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown