Which definition best matches 'rouse'?

• A. wake (someone) from sleep
• B. a nautical term
• C. cause (someone who is tired, lazy, or unwilling to do something) to become active
• D. make angry or excited

Answer: (A)

Rouse is most often used to mean wake someone from sleep. That direct, everyday sense is the best match here, as in an alarm waking you up or a shout rousing someone at dawn. While rouse can also carry a figurative idea—stirring someone to action or provoking a response—the simplest and clearest definition is waking someone up. The nautical term is just a distractor, and the sense of making someone angry or excited belongs more to a different verb nuance and isn’t the primary sense of rouse.