liven
Americanverb (used with object)
-
livens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
livened,
past participle, past
-
livening
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
livens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
livened,
past participle, past
-
livening
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
livensimple
-
livenssimple
-
have livenedperfect
-
has livenedperfect
-
am liveningprogressive
-
are liveningprogressive
-
is liveningprogressive
-
have been liveningperfect progressive
-
has been liveningperfect progressive
Past
-
livenedsimple
-
had livenedperfect
-
was liveningprogressive
-
were liveningprogressive
-
had been liveningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of liven
First recorded in 1880–85; aphetic variant of enliven
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:
He’s also brought cookies and bottles of water to houses to liven things up.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
And frankly, the game was so insipid that it needed something – or someone – to liven it up.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026
Iona is perched on a table by a windowsill, stapling albums to the ceiling as decor to liven up the record store she runs — not that the place needs much livening-up, considering Iona’s look.
From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2026
Some people even threw in extra theatrics and party favors to liven up their pitch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2024
They seemed genuinely glad she was among them, as if grateful for a newcomer to liven things up.
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
The newer ride is an adorable, video-game like animated romp with cartoon critters and lots of pies — a respectful and nostalgic 2021 endeavor that livens up the park by celebrating its history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2023
So it helps that Leon livens the proceedings with a kinetic musicality, juxtaposing the boot-stomping rigidity of soldiers marching in step with the loose-limbed exuberance of hymnal intonations.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 16, 2022
It's not the same as a night under the Arizona stars, but it absolutely livens up a dreary spring evening.
From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2022
The mass start event, which first appeared at the 2018 Olympics, livens things up significantly.
From New York Times ● Feb. 18, 2022
She livens up again like I didn’t just ruin her reveal.
From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
Eventually that season, the atmosphere livened up with cardboard cutouts in the seats.
From New York Times ● Apr. 2, 2024
The addition of a single word, though admittedly anachronistic, might have livened things up and drawn in a whole new cohort of readers.
From Slate ● Nov. 20, 2023
Over the years, WET has livened many plays with interesting premises and conceptual big swings that don’t always land.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 12, 2023
Bread and butter was livened up with a variety of meat and fish pastes, and jelly was teamed with custard to make trifle.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2022
Mingo was a stoutly made man of middle stature, with a West Indian complexion that was livened by his red checkered suit tonight.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
The reunion with Yamamoto – who left Soundgarden around 1989 -- for the Rock Hall show went a long way to livening the festivities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2025
Cuts to the president, tucked away in his secure box, provided a few jump scares throughout the night, sometimes even livening up the moment.
From Salon ● Feb. 10, 2025
The atmosphere inside Old Trafford is livening up.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2024
The hotel had just sent some feedback that the music for the evening sounded a little too muted, and he had some ideas for livening it up.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 6, 2018
But there, in the Conqueror’s tower, a constant ebb and flow of cockneys would be livening the frost.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
