Stimulated to action or strong feeling; awakened from sleep or inactivity. Can refer to emotional excitement, sexual stimulation, or general alertness and engagement.
From 'arouse' (from Middle English 'arousen', formed by combining 'a-' prefix with 'rouse', from Old French 'reuser') plus past participle suffix '-ed'. The word originally meant simply 'to wake up' but developed broader meanings of stimulation and excitement.
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