leaven
noun
a substance, as yeast or baking powder, that causes fermentation and expansion of dough or batter.
had leavened
-
past perfectof leaven.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
He had spent the first half of third grade under the tutelage of a teacher named Mr. Carbine, who had leavened the civics lessons with fun facts about presidents.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
I remembered him extremely well as one of those representatives of the people with whom a paternal Government had leavened the effete ranks of the Irish magistracy.
From Some Experiences of an Irish R.M. by Martin Ross
But though, after Buddhism had leavened India for a few centuries, we no longer find the religious world given over to sacrificing as it had been about 600 B.C., these rites did not die out.
From Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 1 by Sir Charles Eliot
The widow's mite of hostile criticism had leavened the whole lump with bitterness.
From The Henchman by Mark Lee Luther
It had turned the tide of the English civil war, it had leavened the more serious portion of the nation, and it had planted the New England colonies.
From The Chief End of Man by George Spring Merriam
