leaven
/ˈlɛv.ən/noun, verb
leaven is spelled L-E-A-V-E-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,114th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, leaven means “Any agent used to make dough rise or to have a similar effect on baked goods” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of leaven is leavens.
How many letters and syllables are in leaven?
| Letters | 6: L-E-A-V-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 65,114th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is leaven?
Leaven appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,114th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce leaven?
- US /ˈlɛv.ən/
- US [ˈlɛvn̩]
- Australia /ˈlev.ən/
Leaven has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-leaven.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with leaven?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as leaven from its last stressed vowel (/ɛvən/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of leaven
- leavens plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- leavening participle, present
- leavened participle, past
- leven
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does leaven mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
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.
- 3
Chametz.
verb
- 1
To add a leavening agent.
Yeast is used to leaven bread, making it rise during baking.
- 2
To cause to rise by fermentation.
- 3
To temper an action, decision, attitude, characteristic, etc.
- 4
To imbue; to infect; to vitiate.
The comedian's jokes helped leaven the atmosphere during the serious meeting.
- 5
To rise or become larger; to prove.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Leaven in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | levain, ferment , faire lever, faire fermenter |
| German | Treibmittel, Triebmittel, Ferment |
| Portuguese | fermento, levedura |
| Spanish | levadura, polvos de hornear , leudar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.