liken
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
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has likenedperfect
-
am likeningprogressive
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are likeningprogressive
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is likeningprogressive
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have been likeningperfect progressive
-
has been likeningperfect progressive
Past
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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:
Siskel and Ebert wannabes Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick of the Lakers liken themselves to iconic film protagonists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
While it would be terrific to liken her fate to that of Deborah Vance on “Hacks,” at least Jean Smart’s diva got a Vegas rebirth.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 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
Unfortunately, I went on to liken Francis’ way of thinking to Pauling’s.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
She likens the current situation to a farmer having a bull in a field which escapes and causes destruction – and the farmer blames the bull.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Chandra Scott, executive director of Alabama Possible, which oversees the state’s direct-admission program, likens the sign-up form for students to a social-media profile: something they can do “in their sleep.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Bandopadhyay likens a low-mass star to a fluffy meringue.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
Hunt says "looking good and feeling good" is all part of her process to get into the right mindset, and likens walking out on to the track to a gladiator entering an arena.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 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
He likened the matter to a Pandora’s box, which “rarely closes” once it’s been opened.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
Cyber-security researcher and author Cris Thomas likened the agents' behaviour to that of a curious teenage hacker - something he used to be himself.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Coxon likened A.I. development to the Manhattan Project, the U.S. effort that built the first atomic bombs.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
Elon Musk previously likened building AI to “summoning the demon.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
Cells of all sorts are commonly likened to biochemical factories, busy ferments in which dozens of mechanisms are working away in complex sequences that are half Rube Goldberg, half ballet.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Obama, of course, isn’t a ghost, and he has been talking up some of the same candidates others are likening to him.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
Bessent dubbed the initiative Economic D-Day, likening the effort to the World War II campaign.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
As tai chi doesn’t push extremes, it may feel counterintuitive in Western culture; but that’s part of its power, Swanson says, likening tai chi to water.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
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
Dear to me is your likening of him to Waring.—"What's become of Waring?"
From The Kempton-Wace Letters by Jack London
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.
