leaven
to lighten, enliven, or temper something by mixing in another element
Leaven in a sentence
Here is an example sentence showing leaven in a sentence.
He leavened his otherwise stern lecture with a few well-timed jokes to keep students engaged.
Quick GRE check
3 questions, about 2 minutes. How would you do on the real test?
Verbal · Text Completion
Critics initially dismissed the composer's late works as merely blank, but later scholars recognized in them a deliberate restraint that concealed considerable technical sophistication.
More GRE words starting with L
liable to change frequently and unpredictably; emotionally unstable
extremely complicated and full of confusing twists and turns
tearful or given to weeping; mournful
lacking enthusiasm, effort, or determination; carelessly lazy
lacking in vitality, force, or conviction; not impressive
using very few words; terse to the point of seeming blunt
one who falls behind or lags noticeably slower than others
to criticize or scold harshly
Questions about “leaven”
See these words the way the GRE tests them.
Take the free 39-minute GRE Quick Mock Test and meet words like this inside real Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions, with a worked solution for every answer.