Wake and wake up are verbs which mean ‘stop sleeping or end someone else’s sleep’. They are used in everyday language.

I woke (up) suddenly when the alarm clock went off.

I woke (up) the children. (or I woke the children up.) They had to be in school early.

I stopped sleeping.

The children were asleep; then I stopped them sleeping.

Wake up has a similar meaning to wake. It is sometimes used as a stronger form of wake. It can mean ‘stop sleeping’ and ‘make someone feel more awake’:

The noise of the traffic wakes me (up) every morning.

She likes to wake up with a cup of coffee. (It makes her feel more awake.)

We use wake up! as a command:

Wake up! It’s time to get going.

Not: Wake!

The verbs waken, awaken and awake have a similar meaning but are used in more literary contexts, often to refer to emotions or things as well as people:

Cautiously, trying not to waken him, Caroline stepped quietly out of the room.

Different images can awaken new emotions within us.

I awoke next morning to a brilliant pearly light, but when I went to the window, no sea was visible.

See also:

Adjectives