come to one's senses

Verb

come to one's senses (third-person singular simple present comes to one's senses, present participle coming to one's senses, simple past came to one's senses, past participle come to one's senses)

1. (idiomatic) To reawaken after having lost consciousness.
   • [H]e dropped from his seat at my side, like a man struck dead. The stifling heat in the theater had proved too much for him. We carried him out at once into the fresh air. When he came to his senses, my friend entreated me to leave him, and see the end of the play.1884, Wilkie Collins, Mr. Lepel and the Housekeeper, First Epoch
   • He turned toward the door, plunged forward, fell unconscious. . . . When he came to his senses he was in his bed—comfortable, weak, lazy.1904, David Graham Phillips, chapter 25, in The Cost

   Synonyms:

   come to, come round

2. (idiomatic) To become reasonable, comprehending, or responsible, especially after having behaved in an unreasonable, confused, uncomprehending, or irresponsible manner.
   • Dick had not been altogether in his right senses. . . . He found his mother weeping as though her heart would break; whereat his own heart smote him so that he came to his senses there and then, and knelt in humility and shame at her feet.1904, E. W. Hornung, chapter 32, in At Large
   • “I shall never divorce you,” he said, as if a nail had been driven in. . . .
     She went upstairs and told Hilda the upshot.
     “Better get away tomorrow,” said Hilda, “and let him come to his senses.”1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter XIX, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, [Germany?]: Privately printed, →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   sense, smarten up