enliven
Americanverb (used with object)
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enlivens,
present (3rd person singular)
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enlivened,
past participle, past
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enlivening
present participle
verb
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to make active, vivacious, or spirited; invigorate
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to make cheerful or bright; gladden or brighten
Synonym Usage
See cheer.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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enlivenernoun
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enlivenmentnoun
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enliveningadjective
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unenlivenedadjective
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unenliveningadjective
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enliveninglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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enlivensimple
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enlivenssimple
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have enlivenedperfect
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has enlivenedperfect
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am enliveningprogressive
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are enliveningprogressive
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is enliveningprogressive
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have been enliveningperfect progressive
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has been enliveningperfect progressive
Past
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enlivenedsimple
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had enlivenedperfect
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was enliveningprogressive
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were enliveningprogressive
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had been enliveningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of enliven
1625–35; obsolete enlive to give life to ( en- 1 + life ) + -en 1
Explanation
High school students who are throwing a dance in the gym might enliven it with balloons and streamers. In other words, they might try to cheer the room up. When you enliven something, you make it more lively, colorful, or exciting. Your friend who is the life of the party can probably be counted on to enliven the dullest gathering, and a sprinkle of curry powder can enliven a dish of plain roasted vegetables. The original meaning of enliven, from the seventeenth century, was literally "to bring to life," as when a doctor re-starts a patient's stopped heartbeat.
Vocabulary lists containing enliven
The Return of the King
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Encourage
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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:
But here, too, Wladyka stumbles, opting for a comforting but pat ending about how dance and art enliven so many lives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Danny Palumbo recommends the best snacks to enliven your cookout.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026
Herzog said he wanted to tackle the Breuer in part because he believes architects should look to revamp existing historic buildings and enliven what already exists instead of striving to only create from scratch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025
His impact was almost instant, first going past the outside edge of Jaiswal to enliven the crowd.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2025
I can send them into others’ work, even enliven some inanimate objects, and once that’s done, the results are brilliant.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
Praising Mr. Corden, our critic said “he enlivens an already lively evening by giving us a peerless example of the fine art of comic acting.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 14, 2025
A great glaze enrobes and enlivens the meat.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2025
The clash of perspective enlivens the drama by clarifying the thematic questioning holding “Cordially” together — how can human beings process the scale of destruction around them without succumbing to feelings of futility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025
Seattle Pride enlivens the city once again this June during the 49th annual Pride Month celebrations.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 1, 2023
Fleming, seventy- one, a former mayor of Garden City, a short man who enlivens an unsensational appearance with rather conspicuous neckwear, resisted the assignment.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
Mercedes' George Russell held off a late challenge from Red Bull's Max Verstappen to win an Azerbaijan Grand Prix enlivened late on by two safety car periods.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
They depict a natural world often enlivened with the dramatic splendor of rushing falls, flowing lava, and vivid arrays of sky, clouds and storms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Her part, like that of Alice in Barry’s previous opera, is enlivened by delightfully squeaky high notes in unexpected places.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026
Those concepts interlace in his ossuary, enlivened when he plays his tenderly kept records, remnants of human joy all but lost to a Rage pestilence.
From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2026
No coaxing, no sugar, no lullaby, no story, even the light was put out and only the red glow of the fire enlivened the ‘big dark’ which Demi regarded with curiosity rather than fear.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
In my fall preview item for this show, I wrote that the “production is all but guaranteed to be more enlivening than an evening spent surfing Netflix.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Not surprisingly, massed strings play a defining role, with well-integrated keyboard parts enlivening the musical landscape.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
In Guillermo Cienfuegos’ enlivening, if at times unsteady, production at A Noise Within, the role is played by Ann Noble, who forgoes the outdated hunchback but adopts a seething, slithering, perversely seductive aura of menace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
Gastou liked to express his love of the past, in part, by enlivening it with the shock of the new.
From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2024
Opposing them were the Plutonists, who noted that volcanoes and earthquakes, among other enlivening agents, continually changed the face of the planet but clearly owed nothing to wayward seas.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
