What does ‘woke’ mean?

The word “woke” comes from African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and is the past tense of “wake.” It originally meant being awake or alert.

In the 1900s, people started using “woke” to mean being aware of unfair treatment in society, especially toward African Americans. In 1938, a musician named Lead Belly told people to “stay woke” so they were aware of racial injustice.

Over time, “woke” has come to mean paying attention to social and civil rights issues like racism, sexism, and unfair treatment of LGBTQ+ people.

In 2017, “woke” was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary, defined as “being ‘aware’ or ‘well-informed’ in a political or cultural sense.”

In 2023, a USA Today/Ispos Poll found that over half of participants said the term means “to be informed, educated on, and aware of social injustices.”

In the late 2010s, but especially the early 2020s, some people began using the word “woke” in a derogatory way. Conservative or right-leaning politicians and pundits will often use this word in a negative context so that it seems bad or antipatriotic.

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February 23, 2025

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