liven
Americanverb (used with object)
-
livens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
livened,
past participle, past
-
livening
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
livens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
livened,
past participle, past
-
livening
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
livensimple
-
livenssimple
-
have livenedperfect
-
has livenedperfect
-
am liveningprogressive
-
are liveningprogressive
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is liveningprogressive
-
have been liveningperfect progressive
-
has been liveningperfect progressive
Past
-
livenedsimple
-
had livenedperfect
-
was liveningprogressive
-
were liveningprogressive
-
had been liveningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of liven
First recorded in 1880–85; aphetic variant of enliven
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:
He has vowed to liven up proceedings, saying during a hustings event that chamber business had become "dull".
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
Fresh faces with breakout performances can liven things up for you, or you can tune in for the comforts of veterans like Kathy Bates or Harrison Ford.
From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2024
A karaoke machine is brought out to liven things up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2024
Muslims liven up their iftar spreads with their own local delicacies.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 10, 2024
Peter and Linda, if she were to visit him, would undoubtedly liven up the Cambridge scene.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
“This magical place livens conversation as well as appreciation of the countryside and Northern California artists from the past century to the current,” Scarff, who lives in Sonoma, wrote.
From New York Times ● Apr. 28, 2023
It livens up the whole shebang and really makes the soup, truthfully.
From Salon ● Feb. 19, 2023
A hailstorm livens up a Venetian fashion show and the world's largest rodents invade a wealthy Argentinian town - some of the stories you may have missed last week.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2021
Next, a little cup of brown sauce livens the stir-fry with oyster sauce, Japanese Worcestershire, sugar and vinegar.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 30, 2020
She livens up again like I didn’t just ruin her reveal.
From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
Eventually that season, the atmosphere livened up with cardboard cutouts in the seats.
From New York Times ● Apr. 2, 2024
The addition of a single word, though admittedly anachronistic, might have livened things up and drawn in a whole new cohort of readers.
From Slate ● Nov. 20, 2023
Xander Bogaerts livened up a San Diego lineup that already included sluggers Manny Machado, Juan Soto and the suspended Fernando Tatis Jr.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 29, 2023
Bread and butter was livened up with a variety of meat and fish pastes, and jelly was teamed with custard to make trifle.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2022
“He has livened things up,” said Mrs. Brisbane.
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
On her visits, Bonda noticed that the bare cinderblock wall along the patio could use some livening up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026
In 1964, the Brothers recruited a young Jimi Hendrix to their line-up, with his guitar work livening up hits like Testify before he left to go solo.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2023
Whether we're talking about livening up avocado toast, grain bowls, and eggs, or just using the condiment to add heat to marinades and dips, there's nothing better than hot sauce.
From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2022
Waller-Bridge is in high demand, epitomised by her recent engagement livening up the script for the forthcoming as-yet-untitled 25th James Bond film at the request of its star, Daniel Craig.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 14, 2019
But there, in the Conqueror’s tower, a constant ebb and flow of cockneys would be livening the frost.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
