How to Use leaven in a Sentence

leaven

verb
Definition of leavennext
Synonyms for leavennext
  • The eggs are pure lushness but not heavy, leavened by the chives, the sweetness of the onions and just a trace of heat from the mayo.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2023
  • But its hope for the future was leavened by its fear of the unknown.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 14 June 2019
  • The goopy, living substance leavens the dough, helping the bread rise when baked.
    — Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Apr. 2020
  • It's just been leavened with a bit of hope for the future of the comic book and graphic novels.
    — Michael Heaton, cleveland.com, 29 Oct. 2017
  • But touches like the Ron Swanson leaven the deep thoughts with a little fun.
    — al, 7 Sep. 2021
  • To leaven the choice, Bush designated Bob Teeter to be deputy chief of staff.
    — Tevi Troy, Washington Examiner, 18 Feb. 2021
  • Also, any food made with grain or wheat can't leaven, or rise, Gopin said.
    — Michael Walsh, Courant Community, 27 Mar. 2018
  • The songs are memorable and affecting, and the show is leavened with just the right amount of humor.
    — Manuel Mendoza, Dallas News, 14 June 2023
  • This traps the air bubbles, which helps leaven the cookies along with the baking powder.
    — Katlyn Moncada, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Oct. 2020
  • The sour batter serves as a flavor rather than a leavening agent.
    — Julia O'Malley, Anchorage Daily News, 27 June 2018
  • At Passover, leavened products and those made with grains are off-limits.
    — Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 25 Mar. 2018
  • His brute force had always been leavened by a feathery touch around the basket.
    — Nathaniel Friedman, GQ, 30 Jan. 2018
  • Pulque would supply a baker with an abundance of yeasts to leaven bread.
    — Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2022
  • At the bakery, fresh yeast is the leavening agent; home cooks can use active dry yeast instead.
    — New York Times, 10 Oct. 2019
  • This, of course, was leavened by some blame-dodging worthy of Patches O'Houlihan.
    — Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 18 July 2017
  • To commemorate this, Jews do not eat leavened bread for eight days.
    — Sarah Gray, Time, 15 Mar. 2018
  • It is leavened with yeast and gets its delicious charred crispness from being slapped on the sides of a high-heat clay tandoori oven.
    — Anupy Singla, chicagotribune.com, 28 Oct. 2019
  • All the more reason, therefore, for the one person uniquely positioned to be a lever for peace, and leaven of justice, to act.
    — Tim Kelleher, National Review, 3 Mar. 2022
  • Theaters leaven the serious stuff with some crowd-pleasers.
    — John Timpane, Philly.com, 13 Apr. 2018
  • Like any leavened bread recipe, pizza dough requires yeast.
    — Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 19 Apr. 2020
  • With little produce to garnish and leaven its dense core of Italian meats and cheese, though, this was one of the few sandwiches that didn’t charm me.
    — Craig Laban, Philly.com, 25 May 2018
  • This near-tragedy of neglect is leavened by the eccentric charm of its central figures.
    — Glenn Kenny, New York Times, 17 May 2018
  • Unbaked doesn’t use eggs (or any other leavening agent) in the raw cookie-dough batter, so don’t try to bake it.
    — Gwen Ashley Walters, azcentral, 13 July 2018
  • In preparation for the holiday, there's all the cleaning required to banish chametz (leavened food) from the home.
    — Alesandra Dubin, Good Housekeeping, 21 Feb. 2023
  • Pearl ash, made by baking potash in a kiln, was used as a leavening agent in breads before the creation of baking powder.
    — Renae Reints, Fortune, 20 June 2018
  • The two approaches can be combined, with a group exhibition of gallery standbys leavened with the work of a new artist or two.
    — Charles Desmarais, SFChronicle.com, 6 July 2018
  • During this time, Jews aren't supposed to eat anything leavened, a.k.a.
    — Rachel Epstein, Marie Claire, 29 Mar. 2018
  • Some bread labeled sourdough just has a sour flavor added but is leavened with fast-rising yeast.
    — Keri Wiginton, Bon Appetit, 16 Apr. 2018
  • Criticism of Biden is growing in Israel but is still leavened with gratitude.
    — Steve Hendrix, Washington Post, 13 Dec. 2023
  • The fiery performance, leavened by some humor at the close, aimed to rebut one of the main lines of Republican attack on Biden — the effort to portray the 81-year-old president as doddering and weak.
    — David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'leaven.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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