leaven
Americannoun
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a substance, as yeast or baking powder, that causes fermentation and expansion of dough or batter.
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fermented dough reserved for producing fermentation in a new batch of dough.
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an element that produces an altering or transforming influence.
verb (used with object)
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leavens,
present (3rd person singular)
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leavened,
past participle, past
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leavening
present participle
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to add leaven to (dough or batter) and cause to rise.
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to permeate with an altering or transforming element.
noun
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any substance that produces fermentation in dough or batter, such as yeast, and causes it to rise
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a piece of such a substance kept to ferment a new batch of dough
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an agency or influence that produces a gradual change
verb
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to cause fermentation in (dough or batter)
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to pervade, causing a gradual change, esp with some moderating or enlivening influence
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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leavensimple
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leavenssimple
-
have leavenedperfect
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has leavenedperfect
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am leaveningprogressive
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are leaveningprogressive
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is leaveningprogressive
-
have been leaveningperfect progressive
-
has been leaveningperfect progressive
Past
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leavenedsimple
-
had leavenedperfect
-
was leaveningprogressive
-
were leaveningprogressive
-
had been leaveningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of leaven
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English levain, levein, leven, from Anglo-French levein, levain, Old French levain, from Vulgar Latin levāmen (unrecorded) “means of raising or lifting,” from Latin levāmen “alleviation, mitigation, relief,” derivative of levā(re) “to raise, lift up; relieve, reduce” + -men noun suffix
Explanation
Leaven, as a noun, is that which causes transformation. It’s the source of yeast that makes your bread rise, it’s the risen bread, and it’s anything that changes the nature of something else. Coming through Old French from the Latin verb levare, which means “to raise,” leaven changes everything. It makes dough go from flat to loaf, and it’s also the term to describe the risen dough before it’s baked. And leaven can be anything that causes transformation — "Winning the lottery will be the leaven that allows you to travel the world." Additionally it’s a verb: "When you bake bread, you leaven the dough to make it rise."
Vocabulary lists containing leaven
Stairway To Leaven: Baking Vocabulary
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April Vocabulary Words
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The Devil's Arithmetic
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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:
“Weapons” has something for everyone: jump scares for horrorphiles, nods to classics like “Rashomon” and “Magnolia” for film buffs, and more than a few laughs to leaven the tension.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025
That’s in keeping with a director who likes to leaven something profound with something ordinary.
From Seattle Times ● May 28, 2024
There was gloss and sass to leaven the tough stuff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2024
In the evening we will start with the first dough and when it's complete we let it leaven and rise overnight.
From Salon ● Apr. 8, 2023
For one thing, any hopes my father may have had that to meet the General in person would arouse a sense of respect or sympathy to leaven his feelings against him proved without foundation.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
It combines sharp-eyed intelligence with genuine modesty and leavens clever opportunism with the recognition that all men are created equal, even if some are less equal in their instincts for getting paid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Whether the songs are presented in their orchestral splendor or as frenetic electronica, each needle drop leavens the natural comedy of John’s frantic awkwardness or captures his chronic sorrow.
From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2025
The yeast is tolerant of this acidic environment, and it ferments carbohydrates other than maltose to produce the carbon dioxide that leavens the bread.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 1, 2023
Pépin leavens his memoir with dozens of chicken and egg recipes, offhandedly told and casually inserted into the text.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 6, 2022
Know ye not that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7Cleanse out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, according as ye are unleavened.
From The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The common English version, corrected by the final committee of the American Bible Union. by American Bible Union
These sweeping observations are leavened by Mr. Windolf’s countless and often amusing anecdotes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
This produced an effect of narcissism leavened by good-heartedness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
The series largely belongs to them — both actors are terrific, Shannon imbuing Garfield with a gravity leavened with kindness and humor, Macfadyen’s Guiteau, optimistically dedicated to his delusions yet always about to pop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2025
What you might recognize as a modern-style fruitcake – a moist, leavened dessert studded with fruits and nuts – was probably first baked in the early Middle Ages in Europe.
From Salon ● Dec. 17, 2024
The guilt she feels at Gogol’s deflated expression is leavened by common sense.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
That engrossing yourself in every meticulous step — from measuring out your own leavening agents to bringing your butter and eggs to room temperature — is what qualifies as real baking.
From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026
The film’s comedy won’t appeal to all tastes, but some will welcome the leavening effect it has on the movie’s more frightening aspects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
You would think all the leavening would make it light, but the weight of the other ingredients created 4-pound pancakes, which were so thick that the inside could only cook if the outside was burnt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2023
The leavening gives the brownies a little lift, which helps them hold their swirl while baking.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 7, 2022
From morning to night, he displayed cool and reasoned leadership, with his humor leavening even the most difficult crisis.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
