I came across a question on Grammar Geeks in LinkedIn asking what the difference was between “Awaken versus Wake-up”, and I got curious.
Oy, what a word confusion! In researching wake-up, I kept coming across wake up, which is how it turned into a three-part post.
And it’s still a confusion.
Awaken and Wake Up are both verbs and mean to wake or rouse someone. It doesn’t help that these two verbs are nearly identical with wake, waken, awake. Both can also refer to bringing attention to an issue.
One hint you can use is that awaken is considered more formal and wake up is more casual. Just remember to be consistent with your choice.
Wake-up is an adjective and a noun with wake + up as a hyphenated compound — no verbs. It’s that first step in someone waking up or becoming alert.
NOTE: There are some who say that awaken should only act as an intransitive verb. It’s your option, as most experts have no issue either way.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noir for you from either end.
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| Awaken | Wake Up | Wake-up |
|---|---|---|
Yawning Infant is Martin Falbisoner‘s own work is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Aww, baby’s awakened. |
Mark and Mat Wake Up by Mark Hillary is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr. |
Girl with Breakfast in Bed by Dana Tentis is under the Pixabay License, via Pixabay. — A wake-up breakfast of cereal and coffee. |
| Part of Grammar: | ||
| Verb, intransitive & transitive
Third person present verb: awakens |
Verb, Phrasal
Third person present verb: wakes up |
Hyphenated Compound Word
Adjective; Noun, singular Plural for noun: wake-up |
| Verb: To stop sleeping or to make someone stop sleeping Verb, intransitive: Verb, transitive:
|
To stop sleeping, or to make someone stop sleeping
Wake somebody up To start to listen or pay attention to something Give me your attention [American English; idiom] Tells someone to recognize the truth or reality of a situation To start to feel more lively or to make someone feel more lively |
Adjective: Serving to wake one from sleep Serving to arouse or alert Noun: [Australian; informal] An alert or intelligent person [Australian; informal; be a wake-up to] To be fully alert to a person, thing, action, etc. |
| Examples: | ||
| Verb, intransitive: He sighed but did not awaken. I awakened at dawn to find him beside me. I awakened at 6:00 a.m. Verb, transitive: They were awakened by the sound of gunfire. Different images can awaken new emotions within us. The movie helped to awaken the public to the horrors of apartheid. Different images can awaken new emotions within us. |
James usually wakes up early.
I’ll wake you up when it’s time to leave. Wake up, my love. Wake up at the back there! Oh, c’mon. Wake up and smell the coffee! I woke the children up. Another cup of coffee will wake me up. A cool shower wakes up the body and boosts circulation. |
Adjective: Give me a wake-up call at 6, please. This is your wake-up call. These riots should be a wake-up call for the government. There were tables full of men sipping a wake-up Armagnac. Noun: The wake-up comes in the dark before dawn. I’ll need a 5 o’clock wake-up to make the early plane. |
| Phrasal Verb | ||
| wake-up-to | ||
| History of the Word: | ||
| Old English onwæcnan, from on on + waken. | First recorded in 1835–45 using the verb phrase wake up. | |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Awaken vs Wake Up vs Wake-up
Apple Dictionary.com
Cambridge Dictionary: awaken
Dictionary.com: wake-up
Houston, Daryll L. “Wake, Woke, Awake, Awoken.” 15 Mar 2012. Web. 10 Dec 2021. <https://wordpress.com/dailypost/2012/03/15/wake-woke-awake-awoken/>.
Lexico.com: wake-up
Longarm Dictionary: wake up
Macmillan Dictionary: wake up
Merriam-Webster: “The Grammatical History of ‘Awaken’ / ‘Awoken’ / ‘Awakened’“
Oxford Learners Dictionaries: wake up call
Wasko, Brian. “Wake, Waken, Awaken? Maybe I’ll Just Stay in Bed.” WriteAtHome. 11 May 2012. Web. 10 Dec 2021. <http://blog.writeathome.com/index.php/2012/05/wake-waken-awaken-maybe-ill-just-stay-in-bed/>.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Marcia Fudge with Stay Woke Vote T-shirt, 2018, by Marcia Fudge is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cup of Coffee by outsideclick is under the Pixabay License, via Pixabay.
