Standard Lemma guide

liven

verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈlaɪvən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -aɪvən
  • /ˈlɪvən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪvən
  • CMU ARPABET: L AY1 V AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To cause to be more lively, or to become more lively.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: ambitransitive

Examples

  • Let's liven up this party!
  • 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.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: liven up, animate, arouse, awaken, beghast, leaven, bright, brighten, cheer, energize, enliven, enthuse, exalt, excite, fire up, ginger, ginger up, inflame, invigorate, inspire, inspirit, jazz, kindle, liven, perk up, quicken, spice, spice up, stimulate, vitalise

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

plural simple present of live

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, obsolete, plural, present

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

make lively

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • let's liven up this room a bit

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: enliven, liven up, invigorate, animate

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: stimulate, arouse, brace, energize, energise, perk up

Narrower terms: jazz up, juice up, pep up, ginger up, spirit, spirit up, inspirit

History

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”).

From Middle English liven, equivalent to live + -en.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: оживявам се (oživjavam se) — to become more lively
  • Czech: oživit — to become more lively
  • Polish: ożywiać — to become more lively
  • Polish: ożywić — to become more lively