Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of rouse

120 similar words

Another word for rouse is encourage. Other synonyms of rouse are push, stimulate, urge, motivate and promote.

Synonyms and similar words for rouse

verbTo provoke (someone) to react (for example, in anger or annoyance); to spur; also, to annoy, to...

  • inflameTo excite or intensify (a feeling, such as an appetite or passion), especially to an excessive or unnatural level.
  • set offTo begin; to cause; to initiate.
  • affront
  • aggravate
  • anger
  • antagonizeTo work against; to oppose (especially to incite a reaction).
  • awrathAnger; enrage.
  • burn up
  • cheese off slangTo annoy.
  • cross
  • embitter
  • envenom
  • gall
  • get
  • get to
  • honk offTo annoy.
  • incenseTo incite; to stimulate.
  • infuriateTo make furious or mad with anger; to fill with fury.
  • madden
  • make angry
  • nark Australia, UK
  • offend
  • outrage
  • provokeTo bring about a reaction.
  • put out
  • rankle
  • rile
  • piss off
  • roil
  • steam
  • tick off
  • get one's back up
  • get someone's dander upTo anger or annoy someone.
  • get someone's goatTo annoy or infuriate someone.
  • get someone's Irish upTo anger or annoy someone.
  • make someone see red
  • make someone's blood boilTo cause a person to feel angry or very annoyed, especially in situation in which one cannot fully display that feeling...
  • put someone's back upSynonym of get someone's back up: to annoy someone.
  • raise someone's hacklesTo annoy or anger someone.
  • raise someone's shagTo anger or annoy someone.
  • rattle someone's cage
  • rub the wrong way
  • ruffle some feathersTo cause a disturbance; to arouse resentment, anger, or concern.
  • set up someone's birse ScotlandTo make someone angry.
  • actuateTo incite to action; to motivate.
  • goose
  • fuel
  • light a fire underTo motivate or encourage (someone) to start sooner or move faster.
  • sendTo get one going; move to excitement or rapture; to delight or thrill.
  • sting
  • bring aboutTo cause to take place.
  • drawTo attract or provoke (a particular reaction or response) from someone.
  • driveTo motivate; to provide an incentive for.
  • encourageTo mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.
  • egg onTo encourage or coax (a person) to do something, especially something foolhardy or reckless.
  • engenderTo bring into existence (a situation, quality, result etc.); to give rise to, cause, create.
  • evokeTo elicit a response.
  • exciteTo arouse or bring out (e.g. feelings); to stimulate.
  • fomentTo incite or cause troublesome acts; to encourage; to instigate.
  • goadTo incite or provoke.
  • ignite figurativelyTo spark off (something), to trigger.
  • impelTo urge a person; to press on; to incite to action or motion via intrinsic motivation.
  • incite
  • induceTo cause, bring about, lead to.
  • instigate
  • invokeTo bring about as an inevitable consequence.
  • lash
  • motiveTo prompt or incite by a motive or motives; to move.
  • motivateTo provide someone with an incentive to do something; to encourage; to actuate.
  • obligate
  • oblige
  • pushTo continually attempt to persuade (a person) into a particular course of action.
  • promoteTo encourage, urge or incite.
  • promptTo initiate; to cause or lead to.
  • spark offTo initiate something by providing the necessary conditions.
  • spurTo urge or encourage to action, or to a more vigorous pursuit of an object.
  • spur onTo spur or urge (someone) to do something.
  • stimulateTo encourage into action.
  • stirTo incite to action.
  • stir upTo arouse or excite (passion or action, etc.).
  • stoke figuratively
  • temptTo provoke something; to court.
  • urgeTo put mental pressure on; to ply with motives, arguments, persuasion, or importunity.
  • whip upTo arouse or excite.
  • abet obsoleteTo urge on, stimulate (a person to do) something desirable.
  • cheer obsoleteTo encourage to do something.
  • grill Scotland, USTo make angry; provoke; offend, incite.
  • move obsoleteTo incite, urge (someone to do something); to solicit (someone for or of an issue); to make a proposal to.
  • whet obsoleteTo make more keen or to stimulate (someone's appetite, interest, etc.); to hone, to sharpen.

verbOriginally chiefly followed by up: to cause (an emotional reaction, a feeling, etc.); to excite, to...

  • galvanizeTo shock or stimulate into sudden activity, as if by electric shock.
  • animateTo give spirit or vigour to; to stimulate or enliven; to inspirit.
  • awakenTo stop sleeping; awake.
  • electrify figurativelyTo strongly excite, especially by something delightful or inspiring; to thrill.
  • enflame figuratively
  • enkindle figurativelyTo kindle; to arouse or evoke.
  • enthrillTo cause to thrill.
  • exhilarateTo excite, to thrill.
  • fillipTo drive as if by a fillip (noun sense 1); to excite, stimulate, whet.
  • fire figurativelyTo inflame; to irritate, as the passions.
  • fire the blood
  • gin upTo stir up, stimulate, enliven, incite.
  • intoxicate figurativelyTo excite to enthusiasm or madness.
  • kindle figurativelyTo arouse or inspire (a passion, etc).
  • quickenTo put (someone or something) in a state of activity or vigour comparable to life; to excite, to rouse.
  • set fire to figuratively
  • set on fire figurativelyTo arouse passionate feelings in.
  • sharpen figuratively
  • stir the blood
  • thrillTo suddenly excite someone, or to give someone great pleasure; to (figuratively) electrify; to experience such a...
  • vitaliseTo make more vigorous; to invigorate or stimulate.
  • wake(often followed by up) To make somebody stop sleeping; to rouse from sleep.
  • warm the blood
  • wind upTo excite.
  • work upTo raise; to excite; to stir up.
  • exagitate obsoleteTo excite, stir up.
  • exsuscitate obsoleteTo rouse; to excite.
  • suscitate obsoleteTo rouse; to excite; to call into life and action.
  • yerk Scotland, obsoleteTo rouse or excite.

verbSometimes followed by up: to wake (oneself or someone) from deep thought, or rest or sleep; to...

  • bring roundTo resuscitate; to cause to regain consciousness.
  • roustTo rout out of bed; to rouse.

Meaning of rouse

  1. verb To cause (something) to be (more) active or to move; to agitate, to stir up.
  2. verb To stir (a liquid, especially (brewing) beer in the brewing process).
  3. verb To provoke (someone) to react (for example, in anger or annoyance); to spur; also, to annoy, to tease.

Full definition of rouse

rouse in other languages

Questions about synonyms of rouse

What is another word for rouse?
Rouse has 120 synonyms on Word.ws, such as encourage, push, stimulate, urge, motivate, promote, spur and induce.
What does rouse mean?
Rouse means to cause (something) to be (more) active or to move; to agitate, to stir up.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: rouse (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of rouse.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/rouse. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.