1 the act of starting to feel or understand sth; the start of a feeling, etc 开始感到或理解；觉醒；萌生: the awakening of an interest in the opposite sex 开始对异性产生兴趣

2 a moment when sb notices or realizes sth for the first time 首次注意到或觉醒的时刻: It was a rude (= unpleasant) awakening when I suddenly found myself unemployed. 我突然发觉自己失业了，心里真不好受。