The word woke is prevalent on the internet as a slang term. But what does the word woke mean? This article has got you covered.
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Kevin
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January 30, 2022
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Common Questions
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What Does the Word Woke Mean?
The word woke has multiple definitions. First, it can refer to the past tense of the word awake.
In a metaphorical sense, the word woke means alert, especially to racial and political discrimination. If someone is woke, they have an active awareness of injustice and prejudice against civil rights and human rights, especially systemic or widespread injustices. This word can also be used more generally to mean awareness of certain facts or a situation.
What Are Translations of the Word Woke?
For the first definition of woke, many languages have their own words that mean the past tense of awake. Here’s a long list of these translations, which can be useful if you are traveling or studying a new language!
- Luxembourgish: erwächen
- Danish: vågne
- Faroese: vakna
- Turkish: uyanmak
- Irish: dúisigh
- Breton: dihuniñ
- Spanish: despertarse
- Romanian: trezi
- Italian: risvegliarsi
- French: se réveiller
- Bulgarian: събуждам се
- Portuguese: acordar
- Korean: 일어나다
- German: aufwachen, erwachen
- Telugu: నిద్రలేపుట (nidralepuṭa)
- Hebrew: להתעורר
- Latin: evigilo, evigilor
- Esperanto: vekiĝi
- Scottish Gaelic: dùisg
- Indonesian: bangun
- Slovak: zobudiť sa
- Czech: vzbudit se, probudit se
- Swedish: vakna
- Japanese: 目覚める (mezameru), 起きる (okiru), 目が覚める (me ga sameru)
- Macedonian: се буди, се разбудува, се разбуди
- Swahili: kuamka
- Polish: budzić się (impf), obudzić się (pf), przebudzić się (pf), zbudzić się (pf)
- Russian: просыпа́ться (impf), просну́ться (pf), пробужда́ться (impf), пробуди́ться (pf)
- Hungarian: felébred, felkel
- Finnish: herätä
- Dutch: ontwaken, wakker worden
What Is the Origin of the Word Woke?
The slang usage of the word woke as a figurative meaning began to emerge in the 20th century, in the 1940s in Black English. This term was first quoted in a 1943 article in The Atlantic, in which a Black United Mine Workers official used the word.
In the 60s, this term came to mean well informed in Black English/AAVE (African-American Vernacular English), though it was still associated with the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and political awareness. It was used in a New York Times article in 1962 by William Melvin Kelley.
While the word was used throughout the decades since the 40s such as in the 1972 play about Marcus Garvey Garvey Lives! by Barry Beckham in the line, “I been sleeping all my life. And now that Mr. Garvey done woke me up, I’m gon’ stay woke. And I’m gon help him wake up other black folk.” It was revived in 2008 by Erykah Badu in her song Master Teacher.
Additionally, after the February 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin by Florida man George Zimmerman, there was a call to action to “stay woke” to police brutality and racial discrimination that Black people and African Americans face.
This was further spread on social media in 2014 under the Black Lives Matter movement as a response to the murders of a Black man, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri, and additional cases of police brutality. Today, the original Black slang is used around the world, as well as criticized by people like Piers Morgan and Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Conservatives use the phrase to critique the left.
How Can the Word Woke Be Used in a Sentence?
It is crucial to be aware of how to use words that have multiple meanings in different sentences. The word woke can either mean the past tense of wake, or it can be sued as a slang term to mean aware of different social justice issues. Try using this word in both different contexts so that you understand
We woke up to the loud sound of sirens outside of our window. The neighbor’s house was on fire, and firefighters were on the scene to put it out and save the family.
I woke up in my bed in the middle of the night to a rattle at my door. I thought someone was trying to break in, but it was just a bird pecking at my doorknob.
We woke up late on Saturday morning, took a nice stroll down to get brunch in town, and spent the afternoon relaxing, listening to music, and reading. It was a perfect day.
The people were encouraged to stay woke to the social discrimination and white privilege in mainstream media.
The woke guy shared articles on social media to spread awareness about identity politics and discrimination. However, he was not self-aware enough to realize that in simply sharing articles and taking no action, he was not being hashtag #staywoke at all.
The Black man realized that many of his white friends were not woke at all, and were unaware of important facts of discrimination facing the Black community.
I woke up in a daze, super late for work, and realized that the power had gone out in the middle of the night. My phone had died, and none of my alarms had gone off.
What Are Synonyms of the Word Woke?
Since the word woke has a deeper meaning than just the past tense of wake, sometimes it might be useful to opt to use a synonym instead of using the word woke itself. Depending on the context, someone might be confused as to what you mean when you use the word woke. To clarify, try using one of these synonyms for woke.
- aroused
- awaked
- wakened
- tracked
- furrowed
- waken
- awaken
- get up
- waved
- wake up
- roused
- awoke
- awakened
- awake
- realize
Overall, the word woke can be used as the past tense of the verb awake but is more commonly used by mainstream activists as a word that refers to being aware and cognizant of things like racism and injustice in a cultural sense.
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