noun
- a substance (such as yeast) used to make dough rise
- an element that produces a gradual change or improvement
Usage: figurative
verb
- to add leaven to dough or batter
- to permeate with a modifying or vivifying element
Usage: figurative
Examples
- She added leaven to the bread dough to make it rise.
- The baker forgot the leaven and the bread came out flat.
- His humor was a leaven that lightened the serious discussion.
- Education serves as a leaven for social progress.
- You need to leaven the dough for at least an hour.
- Her optimism leavened the team’s discouraged mood.
- The comedy scenes leaven the drama’s intensity.