a ‧ wak ‧ en ‧ ing /əˈweɪk ə nɪŋ/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . an occasion when you suddenly realize that you understand something or feel something:
It was during the period of 1943–1945 that his political awakening took place.
Confident that he would win, he had a rude awakening (=very unpleasant surprise) on election day.
2 . the act of waking from sleep