adjective
woke
WOHK/wəʊk/
Alert to social injustice, especially racism and discrimination.
The observer is woke to the unequal access facing the wheelchair user.
Etymology
The underlying image is remaining awake rather than sleeping. In the social sense, that physical wakefulness becomes figurative alertness to injustice and inequality.
In context
That's woke to recognize that there's larger social problems. Police brutality, recognizing that there's a problem with the institution of policing. That's woke.
More examples
- The discussion examined what woke meant to different speakers.
- He used woke approvingly to describe social awareness.
- The critic used woke dismissively in the review.
Forms
woke
Similar words
- socially aware
- A less politically charged description of recognizing social issues.