liven

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
8
Words With Friends
11
Letters
5
Pronunciation
/ˈlaɪvən/
See all 2 pronunciations
/ˈlaɪvən/ · /ˈlɪvən/

Definition of liven

2 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

verb

  1. (ambitransitive)To cause to be more lively, or to become more lively.
    “Let's liven up this party!”
    “Bacon's Rebellion (p. 54) has no political meaning for Mr. Bruce. Champlain's fight with the Iroquois is told to liven the narrative with a fight (p. 36), but the far-reaching result is merely hinted in a manner that means nothing to one who doesn't know. The ideals and purposes of the Jesuits are not mentioned.”
    “[…] and he fought for others' banners, And he dined at others' tables, and he droned in others' hives, And he livened others' journeys, and he rhymed of others' tourneys, And he emptied others' flagons, and he flirted others' wives.”
    “1958: Marco Polo, Ronald Latham (translator), The Travels of Marco Polo Instead of the picturesque fables* that liven the pages of ‘Sir John Mandeville’ and of many more authentic travellers, he gives us no less picturesque facts, and facts in great abundance.”
    “1979: The American School Board Journal, volume 166, no. 1, January 1979, published by the National School Boards Association, caption to an image in the May 1979 section Visiting professionals frequently liven the day at the Elm Creative Arts School.”
See all 2 definitions

verb

  1. (ambitransitive)To cause to be more lively, or to become more lively.
    “Let's liven up this party!”
    “Bacon's Rebellion (p. 54) has no political meaning for Mr. Bruce. Champlain's fight with the Iroquois is told to liven the narrative with a fight (p. 36), but the far-reaching result is merely hinted in a manner that means nothing to one who doesn't know. The ideals and purposes of the Jesuits are not mentioned.”
    “[…] and he fought for others' banners, And he dined at others' tables, and he droned in others' hives, And he livened others' journeys, and he rhymed of others' tourneys, And he emptied others' flagons, and he flirted others' wives.”
    “1958: Marco Polo, Ronald Latham (translator), The Travels of Marco Polo Instead of the picturesque fables* that liven the pages of ‘Sir John Mandeville’ and of many more authentic travellers, he gives us no less picturesque facts, and facts in great abundance.”
    “1979: The American School Board Journal, volume 166, no. 1, January 1979, published by the National School Boards Association, caption to an image in the May 1979 section Visiting professionals frequently liven the day at the Elm Creative Arts School.”
  2. (form-of, obsolete, plural, present)plural simple present of live
    “We liven in fear, but we wot not whither to flee for to be better than we arn here.”
    “What shoulden shepheards other things tend, Then, sith their God his good does them send, Reapen the fruite thereof, that is pleasure, The while they here liven, at ease and leasure?”
    “Wherefore so long as they make their abode In Him, incorp'rate by due Unitie They liven in eternall energie,”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

Partly from life + -en; partly from live (adjective) + -en; and partly a shortening of enliven. Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk livna (“to quicken, come alive”), Faroese livna (“to come to life, come alive”), Icelandic lifna (“to come to life”).

Anagrams of liven

4 plays · some not in Scrabble

Best play levin 8 points

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

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