Unawakened

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not having woken up from sleep or unconsciousness ; lacking awareness, insight, or spiritual enlightenment
2. Remaining in a state of sleep or unconsciousness ; being unaware or uninformed about a situation or concept
3. Still asleep or not come to consciousness ; not having gained knowledge, understanding, or awakening to deeper meaning

Etymology: "Unawakened" is simply the English prefix "un-", meaning "not," attached to "awakened," the past participle of "awaken." "Awaken" itself goes back to Old English, where the verb "awæcnan" meant to rouse someone from sleep, and the prefix "a-" in it is an old intensifying element; the familiar "wake" is a close relative. Because "awakened" is already a participle, adding "un-" produces a word meaning "not yet roused," which is why it can describe either a sleeper or a person who has not yet grasped something. The figurative sense, being unaware or uninformed, grows naturally out of the literal one: a person who has not been roused from sleep has not noticed what is happening around them. This is the same move that gives "awake" its meaning of alert to a situation. The word is a transparent formation, built from parts that English speakers can recognise at once.

Synonyms: unaware, inert, inactive, slumbering, dormant

Antonyms: awakened, aware, alert, active, conscious