See Also:

arouse (iou) and zap (iou)


arouse (iou)



arouse verb. L16.
[from A-11 + ROUSE verb1, after rise, arise, etc.]
verb trans. Raise or stir up (a person or animal) from sleep or inactivity; excite sexually. L16.
D. Runyon The noise of John Wangle's yelling..arouses many of the neighbors. R. Ellison Such an effective piece of eloquence..you aroused them so quickly to action. P. H. Johnson She was still sleeping, and now she looked so serene, so peaceful, that I hated to arouse her.
verb trans. Stir up into activity (principles of action, emotions, etc.); bring into existence. E18.
G. Greene I wondered whether Miss Smythe was so convenient a sister as Henry was a husband, and all my latent snobbery was aroused by the namethat y, the final e. T. Capote A case like the Clutter case, crimes of that magnitude, arouse the interest of lawmen everywhere. A. Storr Everyone knows that anger, once thoroughly aroused, takes time to subside.
verb intrans. Wake up. E19.
J. Thurber Always a deep sleeper, slow to arouse.
arousable adjective L19.
arousal noun the action of arousing or fact of being aroused M19.
arouser noun M19.

zap (iou)



zap interjection, verb, & noun. [zap] slang (orig. US). E20.
[Imit.]
A. interjection. Repr. the sound or impact of a ray gun, laser, bullet, etc. Also (fig.), expr. the sudden or dramatic Nature of an event. E20.
R. Banks Put me onto something like this school bus case..and zap! all those feelings disappear.
Comb.: zap gun a ray gun.
b. verb. Infl. -pp-.
I. verb trans.
a. Kill, esp. with a gun; deal a sudden blow to (a person). M20.
New York Review of Books A young man..was zapped in the face..with an aerosol spray can.
b. Put an end to, do away with, destroy (a thing) abruptly. L20.
Psychology Today If this were just a tool for zapping stress..it would be awesome enough. Sky Warriors Their..tracking radars had been successfully zapped by Navy-launched anti-radar missiles.
c. Computing. Erase or alter (an item in a program or memory) by direct intervention. L20.
Take action against (a person etc.); spec. (a) punish; (b) demonstrate against. M20.
Move, send, put, or strike quickly or forcefully. M20.
National Observer (US) When Ms Klutz limberly zaps the ball over the net. Japan Times Fax machines..are used for..zapping news releases to the media. Science News They have induced silicon..to emit light when zapped with electrical current.
b. Make more powerful or exciting; enliven, revitalize. Also foll. by up. L20.
P. Howard A first sentence so compelling that it will zap the..sub-editor into..animation. New York Times A silky textured duck liver pate was zapped with..brandy.
Overwhelm, esp. emotionally. M20.
C. McCullough Punctured. Pricked. Deflated. Zapped.
II. verb intrans.
Move quickly and vigorously. M20.
J. Wain Ill-Health..put a stop to his zapping back and forth across the Atlantic.
Wind a videotape rapidly forwards through a section, esp. of commercials, in a recorded programme; operate a remote control to switch rapidly through or between Television channels etc., esp. during commercials. L20.
N. Hornby He found the remote control..and zapped through the channels.
C. noun.
Energy, power, vigour, drive; a strong emotional effect. M20.
A demonstration (against something). L20.
A charge or bolt of electricity etc.; a beam or burst of radiation etc. L20.
zapper noun (a) a person, device, or technique that kills or does away with something, esp. insects; spec. (Zapper, US proprietary name for) an agricultural machine which destroys pests that attack crops; (b) slang a remote control for operating a Television, Video recorder, etc.: M20.
zapping verbal noun the action of the verb; spec. the practice of avoiding commercials when watching Television programmes: L20.
zappy adjective lively, amusing, energetic; striking: M20.