leavening

American

[lev-uh-ning] / ˈlɛv ə nɪŋ /

noun

Also called leavening agent. a substance used to produce fermentation in dough or batter; leaven.
the act or process of causing to ferment by leaven.
leaven.

Etymology

Origin of leavening

First recorded in 1600–10; leaven + -ing ¹

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:

leavening

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

They are also what make it rise in the absence of other leavening agents.

From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2024

A corrosive rage courses through this 163-minute odyssey that’s matched by a leavening absurdism, Jude aghast at the comical stupidity of our inauthentic, greed-driven world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2024

The friend suggested leavening the dough in his mine.

From New York Times ● Aug. 20, 2022

He recorded the moment in his journal, leavening his relief with the one overriding concern that had lent urgency to the work of all the atomic scientists of those years.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023