這四個詞的含義和用法區別不大,常有交義,但有些語法家認為,如果後接直接賓語,應當用"awaken",而不用"wake" (書面語),而"awaken"則多用於引申意義.
"wake":-
>> (1) = "醒"
e.g.I wake up at six every morning.
e.g.He woke to find himself in the hospital.
e.g.Peter was too tired to wake at the usual time.
e.g.Has the baby waked (woken) yet?
>> (2) = "叫醒"; "吵醒"; "引起"
e.g.Please wake me at six.
e.g.I'm afraid of waking her.
e.g.The voice waked me out of a sound sleep.
e.g.The incident woke memories of the war years.
"awaken":-
>> = "弄醒"; "使意識到"
e.g.A knock on the door awakened me.
e.g.She was awakened by the barking of a dog.
>> ["awaken"常用於"引申意義"]
e.g.It awakened millions to the danger of fascism.
e.g.His stealth awakened my suspicion.
e.g.Their national spirit was awakened.