The kanji 昂 primarily conveys the sense of "rising," "high," or "to lift up." It often implies a feeling of elevation, whether literal or figurative. It can describe something that is physically elevated, or it can be used to describe an increase in something like price or value, or even a feeling of high spirits or pride.

・On-yomi (音読み): コウ (kō) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): あ（がる） (a(garu)) - to rise; たか（い） (taka(i)) - high

⚫︎物価昂騰 Translation: Rising prices / Inflation ⚫︎意気昂然 Translation: High spirits; feeling very proud ⚫︎昂然と立ち上がる Translation: To stand up proudly; to rise with a defiant attitude

The kanji 昂 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). The semantic component, 日 (sun/day), suggests the sky or something related to it. The phonetic component is 艮 (gon), which originally meant "to turn back" or "to stand firm." Combined, the character originally depicted the sun rising above the horizon. Over time, it developed the meanings of "rising" and "high." The meaning of "to stand firm" is likely associated with the "rising" of the sun, something that is persistent and reliable.