leaven

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb leaven differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of leaven are imbue, infuse, ingrain, inoculate, and suffuse. While all these words mean "to introduce one thing into another so as to affect it throughout," leaven implies introducing something that enlivens, tempers, or markedly alters the total quality.

a serious play leavened with comic moments

When is it sensible to use imbue instead of leaven?

The words imbue and leaven are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, imbue implies the introduction of a quality that fills and permeates the whole being.

imbue students with intellectual curiosity

When would infuse be a good substitute for leaven?

The synonyms infuse and leaven are sometimes interchangeable, but infuse implies a pouring in of something that gives new life or significance.

new members infused enthusiasm into the club

In what contexts can ingrain take the place of leaven?

Although the words ingrain and leaven have much in common, ingrain, used only in the passive or past participle, suggests the deep implanting of a quality or trait.

clung to ingrained habits

When might inoculate be a better fit than leaven?

The meanings of inoculate and leaven largely overlap; however, inoculate implies an imbuing or implanting with a germinal idea and often suggests stealth or subtlety.

an electorate inoculated with dangerous ideas

When could suffuse be used to replace leaven?

While the synonyms suffuse and leaven are close in meaning, suffuse implies a spreading through of something that gives an unusual color or quality.

a room suffused with light

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of leaven A lot of people don’t like the ad campaign, and there are plenty of reasons not to: there’s no irony or camp to leaven the trashy, dog-whistle atmosphere. Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2025 In a contrast with his remarks to reporters, however, Trump leavened the social media thrust at Putin with criticism of Zelensky, as well. Niall Stanage, The Hill, 27 May 2025 This show turns her into a singer, Dyanne (Aja Alcazar), who leavens the testosterone a bit without being the least bit shy herself. Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 26 Apr. 2025 And if the Yavin material is blatant stalling, much of it is entertaining stalling, offering some welcome dark comedy to leaven some of the heavier material elsewhere. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 23 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for leaven
Recent Examples of Synonyms for leaven
Verb
  • Though Worthy’s spirit enlivened the group — he could be seen dancing and sharing team handshakes with other wideouts during practice this week — the Chiefs also welcomed receiver Rashee Rice back into their meeting rooms.
    Jesse Newell, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
  • The discussion was enlivened by questions from a packed house of students and cinephiles.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Founded in 2005, MiraChechu Productions began as Rey’s one-man creative vehicle, scripting, animating and voicing shorts that earned national and international prizes.
    Emiliano De Pablos, Variety, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Shutdown talk is nowhere on Wall Street, which gets less animated by local economy stories anyway and has also started to tune out Washington chaos — for better or worse.
    Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 30 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Since it was founded in November 2000, Atresmedia Cine has set out to support and invigorate Spanish cinema by pairing its broadcast rights acquisition power with robust marketing and communications strategies.
    Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
  • The sudden burst of energy was invigorating.
    Anna Haines, Vogue, 23 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Try adding a spoon of Lion’s Brain Honey ― golden honey infused with lion’s mane mushrooms ― to your next cup of joe.
    Lyndsay C. Green, Freep.com, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The effect is to infuse the story with an undeniable and knowing nostalgia; how quaint, at Alma’s party, to find everyone debating matters of representational consequence.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Notably, said Kriner, individuals who are inculcated with a sense of nihilism do not commit crimes to achieve an ideological goal.
    Odette Yousef, NPR, 6 Aug. 2025
  • Another important way is to inculcate mindfulness by observing anger as a passing emotion rather than being all consumed by it.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025
Verb
  • The action is largely desynchronized, the activities onscreen contrasting with the voice-over narrations, with the effect of destabilizing the present tense of the movie, imbuing it with nostalgia and with longing for possible futures.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2025
  • The tobacco is imbued with prayer and its smoke takes that prayer to Creator.
    Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • We’re almost inoculated by tragedy, although not in this case.
    Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Instead, the committee said young children should receive one vaccine for chickenpox and a different shot known as MMR that inoculates against measles, mumps and rubella.
    Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The film certainly steers clear of Emmerichian overdrive, but it is suffused with hopelessness — on both an intimate and an epic scale.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
  • But the hot gas that suffused the space between the galaxies in each cluster would have crashed head-on.
    Phil Plait, Scientific American, 11 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Leaven.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leaven. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.

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