Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread: in the first day there shall be no leaven in your houses; whosoever shall eat any thing leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall perish out of Israel.
Source: tatoeba (8016711)
Leaven
/ˈlɛv.ən/
Synonyms for "leaven" (113 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (23)
Strong matches (34)
Related words (56)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: abate, adjust, adjust to, agent, aggravate.
- Sentence evidence is available for leaven, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, derived_reverse, opengloss, wordnet, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "leaven".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "leaven"
Keep "leaven" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "leaven" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "leaven", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "leaven" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
14 entriesagentbaking processbring upchange agentelevatefermentationget upimponderableinfluenceingredientliftprocessraisesubstance
More specific
9 entriesactive dry yeastcivic reformgrassroots movementinspirationinstant yeastpersuasionsourdough fermentationsourdough starteryeast leavening
Collocations
10 entriesactive dry yeastbaker's yeastleaven breadleaven doughleaven with yeastleavened doughleavening agentleavening processsourdough starteryeast
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
4 entriesSample sentences
16 total sentences available.
Seven days there shall not be found any leaven in your houses: he that shall eat leavened bread, his soul shall perish out of the assembly of Israel, whether he be a stranger or born in the land.
Source: tatoeba (8018726)
My first experiments were failures and I was discouraged because, instead of saving food, I was wasting it, and yet I was unwilling to acknowledge myself defeated by the little square of leaven that came to me so attractively done up in tinfoil.
Source: tatoeba (11674065)
Both Decadence and Aestheticism, as intellectual movements, have fallen into the nadir of oblivion, and the dust lies heavy upon them, but they left a little leaven to lighten the heavy inertness of correct and academic literature; and now Symbolism, a greater movement than either, is in the ascendant, giving another turn to the wheel, and to all who think deeply about such matters it seems as though Symbolist literature is to be the literature of the future.
Source: tatoeba (11704012)
Showing 4 of 16 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "leaven"?
Closest matches include abate, adjust, adjust to, agent, aggravate.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "leaven"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.