Leaven - English meaning

noun

The froth on fermenting malt liquor.

Usage examples:

Spring water, barm and malt of grain have created this classic whisky.

noun

A round, flat bread roll (= a small loaf of bread for one person)

verb

Charge with electricity; pass an electric current through.

Usage examples:

After locking the farm gate i had switched on the power to electrify the fence

verb

To equip with electricity

Usage examples:

They recently electrified this part of the railway line., her performance electrified the audience.

verb

To make a machine or system operate using electricity when it did not before

Usage examples:

The east coast railway line has been electrified.

verb

Give vitality and enthusiasm to.

Usage examples:

People were energized by his ideas

verb

To make something more active

Usage examples:

The candidate is trying to energize voters.

verb

To make someone feel energetic or eager

Usage examples:

I felt very energized after my holiday.

verb

Make (something) more entertaining, interesting, or appealing.

Usage examples:

The wartime routine was enlivened by a series of concerts

verb

To make more interesting or active

Usage examples:

Entertainment enlivened the meeting.

verb

To make something more interesting

Usage examples:

The game was much enlivened when both teams scored within five minutes of each other.

verb

Become or make larger or more extensive.

Usage examples:

Their business expanded into other hotels

verb

Extend in one or more directions

verb

To increase something in size, number, or importance

Usage examples:

[ i ] the air in the balloon expands when heated., [ t ] they expanded their number of stores signi…

verb

(of a substance) undergo fermentation.

Usage examples:

The drink had fermented, turning some of the juice into alcohol

noun

Agitation and excitement among a group of people, typically concerning major change and leading to trouble or violence.

Usage examples:

A period of political and religious ferment

verb

To change chemically through the action of living substances, such as yeast or bacteria, or to use a substance to produce a chemical change

Usage examples:

He was a central figure in the intellectual ferment of his time.

verb

Shock or excite (someone) into taking action.

Usage examples:

The urgency of his voice galvanized them into action

noun

Galvanized steel sheeting, typically as used for roofing or fencing.

Usage examples:

The rain was beating hard against miss orilie's galvanize

verb

To cause a person or group to suddenly take action, esp. by shocking or exciting them in some way

Usage examples:

Why not use the media to galvanize the community into action?

phrasal verb

Make more interesting or lively

phrasal verb

To make something more exciting, interesting, or active

Usage examples:

They've gingered up the book cover with a new design, but the contents are the same.

verb

Inspire or permeate with (a feeling or quality).

Usage examples:

His works are invariably imbued with a sense of calm and serenity

phrasal verb

To fill something or someone with a quality or feeling

Usage examples:

Her poetry was imbued with a love of the outdoors.

verb

Fill (a balloon, tyre, or other expandable structure) with air or gas so that it becomes distended.

Usage examples:

Never use an air line on a garage forecourt to inflate your tyres

verb

To cause an object to increase in size and shape by filling it with air or gas, or (of an object) to become larger as a result of this process

Usage examples:

[ t ] to inflate balloons, [ i ] air bags in cars are designed to inflate automatically on impact.,…

verb

To increase the value or price of something, or to become more valuable or expensive

Usage examples:

People who bought homes years ago have seen the values inflate and property taxes rise with the inf…

verb

Fill; pervade.

Usage examples:

Her work is infused with an anger born of pain and oppression

verb

To cause someone or something to take in and be filled with a quality or a condition of mind

Usage examples:

His landscape paintings were infused with a warm, subtle light.

verb

Fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

Usage examples:

His philosophy inspired a later generation of environmentalists

verb

Serve as the inciting cause of

verb

Give strength or energy to.

Usage examples:

The shower had invigorated her

verb

To give new energy or strength to someone or something

Usage examples:

They argued that a cut in the tax rate would invigorate the economy., the fresh air was invigorating.

noun

A substance used in dough to make it rise, such as yeast or baking powder.

Usage examples:

During the 18th century yeast was abandoned as a leavening for fruit cakes

verb

Cause (dough or bread) to rise by adding yeast or another raising agent.

Usage examples:

It only take a little bit of yeast to leaven the bread

noun

A substance added to a cake, bread, etc. to make it swell and become lighter, especially a chemical powder or yeast

Usage examples:

Tip the flour and leavening into the mixture., the leavenings and amount of flour will affect how y…

verb

Make or become lighter in weight, pressure, or severity.

Usage examples:

Efforts to lighten the burden of regulation

verb

Make or become lighter or brighter.

Usage examples:

The sky began to lighten in the east

verb

To make someone or become happier and less anxious

Usage examples:

Being with friends lightened her mood., he lost 30 pounds to lighten the burden on his knee., to li…

verb

Make partial or minor changes to (something).

Usage examples:

She may be prepared to modify her views

verb

To change something slightly, esp. to improve it or make it more acceptable or less extreme

Usage examples:

The school board decided to modify its existing employment policy.

verb

To slightly change something such as a plan, method, or law, usually to improve it or make it more acceptable

Usage examples:

All files are marked with the date and time they were last modified., we modified some of the wordi…

verb

Go into or through (something), especially with force or effort.

Usage examples:

The shrapnel had penetrated his head

verb

Pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance

verb

To move into or through something

Usage examples:

[ i ] the drill isn’t sharp enough to penetrate into the rock., [ t ] women have begun to penetrate…

phrasal verb

To improve or become more exciting

Usage examples:

Prices perked up slightly before the close of trading.

phrasal verb

To make something more interesting or exciting, or to become this way

Usage examples:

The city is trying to perk up the business district by planting trees., she perked up considerably …

phrasal verb

To become or cause something to become higher in value or more active

Usage examples:

Share prices have perked up., the overall good news failed to perk up the stock market.

verb

Spread throughout (something); pervade.

Usage examples:

The aroma of soup permeated the air

verb

To spread through something and be present in every part of it

Usage examples:

The smell of detergent and bleach permeated the air.

verb

(especially of a smell) spread through and be perceived in every part of.

Usage examples:

A smell of stale cabbage pervaded the air

verb

To spread through all parts of something

Usage examples:

The influence of the early jazz musicians pervades american music.

verb

Make or become faster or quicker.

Usage examples:

She quickened her pace, desperate to escape

verb

To become or make faster or more active

Usage examples:

[ i ] his pulse quickened when he saw her., [ t ] computers have quickened the pace of communicatio…

verb

Lift or move to a higher position or level.

Usage examples:

She raised both arms above her head

noun

An increase in salary.

Usage examples:

He wants a raise and some perks

verb

Move upwards

verb

Raise levels of physiological or nervous activity in (the body or any biological system).

Usage examples:

The women are given fertility drugs to stimulate their ovaries

verb

To encourage something to grow, develop, or become active

Usage examples:

Tax cuts will stimulate the economy., read books to stimulate your child’s imagination., some veget…

verb

To encourage something to grow, develop, or become active

Usage examples:

The government plans to cut taxes in order to stimulate the economy., stimulate growth/investment/t…

verb

Gradually spread through or over.

Usage examples:

Her cheeks were suffused with colour

verb

To spread through or over something completely

Usage examples:

His voice was low and suffused with passion.

verb

(especially of a part of the body) become larger or rounder in size, typically as a result of an accumulation of fluid.

Usage examples:

Her bruised knee was already swelling up

noun

A full or gently rounded shape or form.

Usage examples:

The soft swell of her breast

adjective

Excellent; very good.

Usage examples:

You're looking swell

verb

Make a marked change in the form, nature, or appearance of.

Usage examples:

Lasers have transformed cardiac surgery

noun

The product of a transformation.

Usage examples:

In the bottom portion of the figure, the logarithmic transform of power is presented.

verb

To change completely the appearance or character of something or someone

Usage examples:

Computers have transformed the way work is done., salinas dramatically transformed the country’s ec…

verb

Make more lively or interesting; enliven.

Usage examples:

Outings vivify learning for children

noun

Activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.

Usage examples:

He was tired after a day's work

verb

Be engaged in physical or mental activity in order to achieve a result; do work.

Usage examples:

She has been working so hard

combining form

Denoting things or parts made of a specified material or with specified tools.

Usage examples:

Silverwork

noun

A microscopic fungus consisting of single oval cells that reproduce by budding, and capable of converting sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

Usage examples:

The yeast cells in the envelope of yeast are the cells that do the work in your loaf of bread.