liken
Americanverb (used with object)
-
likens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
likened,
past participle, past
-
likening
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
likensimple
-
likenssimple
-
have likenedperfect
-
has likenedperfect
-
am likeningprogressive
-
are likeningprogressive
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is likeningprogressive
-
have been likeningperfect progressive
-
has been likeningperfect progressive
Past
-
likenedsimple
-
had likenedperfect
-
was likeningprogressive
-
were likeningprogressive
-
had been likeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of liken
First recorded in 1275–1325, liken is from the Middle English word liknen. See like 1, -en 1
Explanation
When you liken one thing to another, you compare them and point out what they have in common. You might liken your long walk to school to your ancestors' voyage across the ocean to the New World. When you equate two things, or emphasize their similarities, you liken them. You could liken your experience at the dentist to torture, or liken your dad's skill at baking pies to that of Rembrandt painting a portrait. Your grandmother might liken her romance with your grandfather to a fairy tale, and you could then liken the day you spent listening to her stories to watching a long, dull movie.
Vocabulary lists containing liken
The Most Beautiful Roof in the World
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Finding Langston
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Flora and Ulysses
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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:
Those who know Jaissle best even liken the difference between his on and off the field persona to Jekyll and Hyde.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Analysts are largely bullish on both companies and liken picking which one they prefer to choosing a favorite child.
From MarketWatch ● May 25, 2026
Out of magnanimity, I’ll liken this trifle to a Rothko.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
This "is what replacing looks like," added Polanski, a charismatic figurehead some liken to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and who only took charge of the Greens last September.
From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026
Many would later liken the pairing of Morrow and Halliday to that of Jobs and Wozniak or Lennon and McCartney.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Brandon Thomas, a former United States Air Force pilot who now flies for a major commercial airline, likens it to battle-testing when someone proves they can take a hit and fire back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Bandopadhyay likens a low-mass star to a fluffy meringue.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
Relth-Miller likens the rise of physical media like VistaVision and vinyl albums to “collecting experiences.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
She likens the smell to that of a dead body.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
He likens himself to “a simple worshipper of the eternal Buddha,” he tells both Theo and Gauguin.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
Architect Ma Yansong, who designed the building with his firm MAD, said he’s heard the spaceship comparison, and that’s fine by him, but he’s also heard it likened to a cloud.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
An otherwise chipper cartoonist likened her audience to a “chamber of despair” that nobody else understands.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
Lan likened growing it to "raising a child -- I can give you all the tricks but I cannot guarantee you similar success".
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
James Wilson, co-host of the Srsly Risky Biz podcast, likened the attacks to an “endless amount of cyber mosquitoes,” as opposed to a “cyber Pearl Harbor.”
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
I likened the top sixteen fencers in the world to superheroes, insanely fast, mesmerizing to watch, and lucky enough to not even have to fence the first day of World Cup competition.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Bessent dubbed the initiative Economic D-Day, likening the effort to the World War II campaign.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
“I’m not here because of some great thing I did, I’m here because God delivered me,” Paxton said, likening himself to other “not particularly perfect” biblical figures like Peter, Paul and David.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Prediction market platforms and their proponents say trading contracts on the markets is not the same as betting, likening it instead to trading on the stock market.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
The CJP, which has millions of followers on social media, emerged in May initially as a satirical response to Chief Justice Surya Kant reportedly likening young people to "cockroaches" and "parasites" during a court hearing.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
If she says she is sorry for likening me to Winfield, I will tell her who sent the roses.”
From Polly in New York by Lillian Elizabeth Roy
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.
