# woke

Pronunciation: say "WOHK" US /woʊk/, UK /wəʊk/

## Verb

1. Past tense of wake. — simple past of wake
   - Simple: Past tense of wake. Use this form for waking that already happened.
   - _He woke to the sound of rain drumming on the roof._
   - _They woke before dawn to catch the early train._
4. Past participle of wake (colloquial or dialectal; woken is the usual form). *(dialectal)* — past participle of wake
   - Simple: Past participle of wake, used in casual or regional speech. In careful writing, use woken.
   - _They have woke to snow several mornings in a row._
   - _He had woke earlier than usual that day._

## Adjective

2. Holding or promoting progressive views, especially on social justice, regarded as self-righteous, intolerant, or excessive; used disparagingly. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Used as an insult for people or things seen as too focused on social justice or politically correct ideas.
   - _My grandfather rolls his eyes and calls my whole group of friends woke._
   - _He complained that the university had grown too woke for his liking._
3. Alert and well-informed about social problems, especially racism and other social justice issues. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Aware of unfair treatment in society, especially about race and other social justice issues.
   - _A woke audience challenged the speaker on his outdated views about gender._
   - _Staying woke about systemic inequality means questioning the news you take for granted._
7. In a conscious, waking state rather than asleep. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Awake and conscious, not asleep.
   - _Half the house was still woke long after midnight._
   - _She stayed woke until the storm finally passed._

## Noun

5. Progressive ideology, especially concerning social justice; used disparagingly. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A set of progressive beliefs, especially about social justice. Used as an insult.
   - _The senator vowed to drive woke out of the nation's classrooms._
   - _Talk radio hosts rail against woke as a threat to traditional values._
6. A person who holds progressive views or attitudes; used disparagingly. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A person who holds very progressive opinions. Used as an insult.
   - _The columnist sneered that the wokes had taken over the arts council._
   - _Every time the studio cast a new hero, angry fans flooded the forums with posts about the wokes ruining their childhood._

## Origin

The adjective may come from shortening "woken" or "woken up", or from using "woke" as a dialectal past participle of "wake". Its meaning of awareness of social injustice is recorded from at least the 1930s. Its use as an insult has been widespread since the late 2010s.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/woke (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).