leaven

Meaning

Noun

1. Any agent used to make dough rise or to have a similar effect on baked goods.
2. Anything that induces change, especially a corrupting or vitiating change.

Verb

1. To add a leavening agent.
2. To cause to rise by fermentation.
3. To temper an action or decision.
4. To imbue; to infect; to vitiate.
5. To rise or become larger.

Synonyms

yeast

ferment

leavening

raise

prove

sourdough

leavening agent

impact

influence

kick up

lift

malt

pervade

poolish

proof

rear

rising

stir up

up

🆙

upheave

uplift

bump up

self-rising flour

arouse

heft up

baking powder

barm

elevate

fillip

heft

ignite

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈlɛv.ən/

Etymology

From Middle English levayn, borrowed from Old French levain, from Vulgar Latin *levāmen, a noun based on Latin levō (“raise”).