Liven
/ˈlaɪvən/ verb
verb ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To cause to be more lively, or to become more lively. ambitransitive
"Let's liven up this party!"
- 2 plural simple present of live form-of, obsolete, plural, present
"We liven in fear, but we wot not whither to flee for to be better than we arn here."
- 3 make lively wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"A resident uses pot lids to play cymbals as she takes part in a music flash mob called "Look out from the window, Rome mine!" The event sought to liven up the city's silence during the coronavirus lockdown."
Etymology
Etymology 1
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”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English liven, equivalent to live + -en.