liven

[ lahy-vuhn ]

See synonyms for liven on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to put life into; rouse; enliven; cheer (often followed by up): What can we do to liven up the party?

verb (used without object)

to become more lively; brighten (usually followed by up): If this party doesn't liven up soon, let's leave.

Origin of liven

First recorded in 1880–85; aphetic variant of enliven

Other words from liven

liv·en·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use liven in a sentence

But I wasnt; only I forgot to take any carraway-seed in the mornin, and so I kinder missed it; you know it livens one up.
The Minister's Wooing | Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Livens projectors could throw their gas drums nearly a mile.
America's Munitions 1917-1918 | Benedict Crowell
In addition to this we shipped 18,600 Livens drums loaded with phosgene.
America's Munitions 1917-1918 | Benedict Crowell
Livens projectors, a form of smoke which discharged a cylinder of gas a considerable distance, were chiefly employed.
The History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914-1918 | Frederick William Bewsher
On one occasion on the Divisional front, Mr Livens, the inventor of these projectors, observed their effect from an aeroplane.
The History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914-1918 | Frederick William Bewsher

British Dictionary definitions for liven

liven

/ (ˈlaɪvən) /

verb

(usually foll by up) to make or become lively; enliven

Derived forms of liven

livener, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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