How to Use leaven in a Sentence

leaven

verb
  • He needs to leaven his speeches with more humor.
  • But its hope for the future was leavened by its fear of the unknown.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 14 June 2019
  • Also, any food made with grain or wheat can't leaven, or rise, Gopin said.
    — Michael Walsh, Courant Community, 27 Mar. 2018
  • The sour batter serves as a flavor rather than a leavening agent.
    — Julia O'Malley, Anchorage Daily News, 27 June 2018
  • Pulque would supply a baker with an abundance of yeasts to leaven bread.
    — Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2022
  • His brute force had always been leavened by a feathery touch around the basket.
    — Nathaniel Friedman, GQ, 30 Jan. 2018
  • 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
  • This traps the air bubbles, which helps leaven the cookies along with the baking powder.
    — Katlyn Moncada, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Oct. 2020
  • To commemorate this, Jews do not eat leavened bread for eight days.
    — Sarah Gray, Time, 15 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
  • Rich talk and wild tales, all leavened with deep experience and salty humor.
    — John Madson, Outdoor Life, 1 July 2026
  • At the bakery, fresh yeast is the leavening agent; home cooks can use active dry yeast instead.
    — New York Times, 10 Oct. 2019
  • 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
  • For seven or eight days, Jews refrain from eating leavened food.
    — Jayne Orenstein, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2018
  • Though the subject matter is heavy, the movie is leavened by Rushdie’s wry sense of humor.
    — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Jews avoid leavened food throughout Passover, eating only kosher foods.
    — Greg Garrison, AL.com, 30 Mar. 2018
  • Some variations of the cookie are leavened.
    — Anna Theoktisto, Southern Living, 21 Dec. 2025
  • 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 near-tragedy of neglect is leavened by the eccentric charm of its central figures.
    — Glenn Kenny, New York Times, 17 May 2018
  • But touches like the Ron Swanson leaven the deep thoughts with a little fun.
    — al, 7 Sep. 2021
  • Can the board find someone who will leaven discussion and planning with new insights?
    — Charles Desmarais, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 Apr. 2018
  • Bing’s unsettling account of the future is leavened with wry humor and satire.
    — David Holahan, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2017
  • The chemical leavening agent is salted — along with salt — into each sack.
    — Leah Eskin, idahostatesman, 16 May 2017
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Most home sourdough bakers know that their starter contains a vibrant herd of microbes, which leaven and flavor their bread.
    — Bob Holmes, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Aug. 2020
  • To leaven the choice, Bush designated Bob Teeter to be deputy chief of staff.
    — Tevi Troy, Washington Examiner, 18 Feb. 2021
  • Now imagine that the dough leavens, expanding in all directions.
    — Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 14 Aug. 2025

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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