leavening

American  

[lev-uh-ning] / ˈlɛv ə nɪŋ /

noun

1. Also called leavening agent.  a substance used to produce fermentation in dough or batter; leaven.

2. the act or process of causing to ferment by leaven.

3. leaven.

---

Etymology

Origin of leavening

First recorded in 1600–10; leaven + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

The film’s comedy won’t appeal to all tastes, but some will welcome the leavening effect it has on the movie’s more frightening aspects.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 28, 2025

You would think all the leavening would make it light, but the weight of the other ingredients created 4-pound pancakes, which were so thick that the inside could only cook if the outside was burnt.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 25, 2023

The friend suggested leavening the dough in his mine.

From New York Times • Aug. 20, 2022

Her story's fantastical tone aligns with her bright imagination, leavening its approach with the bubbly spirit of a dreamer suddenly able to make her superhero fantasies real.

From Salon • Aug. 19, 2022

He recorded the moment in his journal, leavening his relief with the one overriding concern that had lent urgency to the work of all the atomic scientists of those years.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik