liken
Americanverb (used with object)
-
likens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
likened,
past participle, past
-
likening
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
likensimple
-
likenssimple
-
have likenedperfect
-
has likenedperfect
-
am likeningprogressive
-
are likeningprogressive
-
is likeningprogressive
-
have been likeningperfect progressive
-
has been likeningperfect progressive
Past
-
likenedsimple
-
had likenedperfect
-
was likeningprogressive
-
were likeningprogressive
-
had been likeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of liken
First recorded in 1275–1325, liken is from the Middle English word liknen. See like 1, -en 1
Explanation
When you liken one thing to another, you compare them and point out what they have in common. You might liken your long walk to school to your ancestors' voyage across the ocean to the New World. When you equate two things, or emphasize their similarities, you liken them. You could liken your experience at the dentist to torture, or liken your dad's skill at baking pies to that of Rembrandt painting a portrait. Your grandmother might liken her romance with your grandfather to a fairy tale, and you could then liken the day you spent listening to her stories to watching a long, dull movie.
Vocabulary lists containing liken
The Most Beautiful Roof in the World
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Finding Langston
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Flora and Ulysses
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“I liken Harrenhal to the White Lotus of Westeros,” Mitchell says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
"I liken us to an island and it has often felt hard to imagine anyone joining that island," she said.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
Analysts are largely bullish on both companies and liken picking which one they prefer to choosing a favorite child.
From MarketWatch ● May 25, 2026
This "is what replacing looks like," added Polanski, a charismatic figurehead some liken to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and who only took charge of the Greens last September.
From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026
‘You speak of what you do not know, when you liken Moria to the stronghold of Sauron,’ answered Gandalf.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
She likens it to the warm spaces opened during the pandemic for people who couldn't afford to heat their homes.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
She likens it to being an athlete who qualifies to represent their country at the Olympics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
In the documentary, Bailey likens himself and his bandmates to hired guns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Crockett likens that to the approximate weight of a baseball, “which is seen as maybe a nonstarter for mass appeal.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
A net woven from long grass that covers the couple during their vows, the touching of each other’s lips with salt water, and the ancient wedding song, which likens marriage to a sea voyage.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Mark Cabana, head of rates strategy at BofA Global Research, likened Warsh to a person saying they are firmly committed to losing 15 pounds but without exercise, diet or using GLP-1 drugs.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
In early July, Lukwago likened his continued detention to "a death sentence" as he had chronic health problems affecting notably his lungs and spine.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
In the viral review by Wilson, who also translated Seneca and Euripides, as well as Homer’s “Iliad,” she likened Nolan’s nearly three-hour epic to Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “Game of Thrones.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Vaughters likened his comments to rolling “a grenade down the aisle,” but the blast was both explanatory and useful.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
She could dismiss my preparations if she wanted, but I likened our arrangement to the night I had to fight off a pushy raccoon back on the farm.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Merlin has often been called a "Shazam for birds" - likening it to Apple's app letting users identify a song playing using a phone's microphone.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan said they were "expecting huge demand" for the exhibition, likening the sale to the annual rush for Glastonbury music festival tickets.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Bernstein analyst Madison Rezaei initially flagged the possibility of such a risk to neoclouds in a March note, likening CoreWeave’s business model to a “situationship,” or a noncommittal romantic entanglement.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Anton is likening our work to the work of horses, whose value was eliminated by the internal combustion engine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
He had indulged his humor too far in likening this overgrown, formidable “sparrow” to the most succulent tidbit of the fowl species.
From Lonesome Town by Dorrance, Ethel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
