liken
Syllables: lik·en/ˈlaɪk(ə)n/US/ˈlaɪkən/
liken verb: followed by to or (archaic) unto: to regard or state that (someone or something) is like another person or thing; to compare.
Verb
liken (third-person singular simple present likens, present participle likening, simple past and past participle likened)
- Followed by to or (archaic) unto: to regard or state that (someone or something) is like another person or thing; to compare.
- The physics teacher likened the effect of mass on space to an indentation in a sheet of rubber.
- And vvell may the preacher and plovvman be likened together: Firſt, for their labour in all ſeaſons of the year; for there is no time of the year in vvhich the ploughman hath not ſome ſpecial vvork to do. […] And then they alſo may be likened together for the diverſity of vvorks, and variety of...1548 January 27 (Gregorian calendar), Hugh Latimer, “Sermon IV. By the Reverend Father in Christ Master Hugh Latimer Bishop of Worcester. Preached in the Shrouds at Paul’s Church in London the 18th...
- Chiefly followed by to: to make (oneself, someone, or something) resemble another person or thing.
- Speech is reason's brother, and a kingly prerogative of man, / That likeneth him to his Maker, who spake, and it was done.1838, Martin Farquhar Tupper, “Of Speaking”, in Proverbial Philosophy: A Book of Thoughts and Arguments, Originally Treated, London: Joseph Rickerby, […], →OCLC, stanza 1, page 133
- Antonyms:
- unliken
- To represent or symbolize (something).
- Followed by to: to be like or resemble; also, to become like.
liken meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada
liken in Tamil
- to liken, compare
- ஒப்பி oppi
liken in Urdu
- مقابلہ کرنا, تشبیہ دینا
liken in Malayalam
- equate, compare, draw an analogy between
- തുലനം ചെയ്ക, താരതമ്യം ചെയ്യുക, തുല്യമായി കാണുക, തുല്യപ്പെടുത്തുക, താരതമ്യപ്പെടുത്തുക, സമീകരിക്കുക
liken in Kannada
- ಸಾದೃಶ್ಯ ತೋರಿಸು, ಹೋಲಿಕೆ ಕಂಡುಹಿಡಿ, ಹೋಲಿಸು, ಹೋಲಿಕೆ ಕಾಣು, ಅಂತೆ ಮಾಡು, ಸದೃಶವಾಗಿ ಮಾಡು
More languagesFewer languages
- liken in Arabic
- شَبَّهَ šabbaha
- liken in Indonesian
- membandingkan, mengumpamakan
Examples of liken in a sentence
- Me thinkes therefore, that of all of the Græcian Captaines I can liken none ſo vvell vnto him, as Eumenes the Cardian.1579, Plutarke of Chæronea [i.e., Plutarch], “The Life of Sertorius”, in Thomas North, transl., The Lives of the Noble Grecians and...
- Thou likenedſt thee to me, I vvill compare me to Nothing: […][1629], Iohn Gaule [i.e., John Gaule], Practique Theories: Or, Votiue Speculations, vpon Iesus Christs Prediction. Incarnation. Passion....
- You vvill then be every one's favourite: and every good ſervant, for the future, vvill be proud to be liken'd to honeſt Joſeph Leman.1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter II. Mr. Lovelace, to Joseph Leman.”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume III...
- Not Conscience' self, / Far less a shadow which thou likenest to it, / Should shake the firm spirit thus.1835 (date written; published 1835 December – 1836 January), Edgar Allan Poe, “Scenes from ‘Politian;’ an Unpublished Drama”, in The Works...
Antonyms of liken
Forms of liken
| third-person singular present | likens |
|---|---|
| present participle | likening |
| past participle | likened |
| past | likened |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | likenest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | likenedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | likeneth |
Origin of liken
From Middle English liknen (“to be comparable; to compare (often disparagingly); to make (someone) equal to another person; to regard (something) as equal to another thing; to regard (something) as likely; to resemble; to take (something) as a substitute; to apply, be adapted or suitable; to tend (to sin)”) [and other forms], from liken (“to be comparable; to compare; to be appropriate; to form”), from lik (“alike, analogous, similar; appropriate, suitable; equal; homogeneous; identical, the same; indicative; likely (to be or do something), probable; possible; simultaneous; more or most like (?)”) + -en (suffix forming infinitives of verbs). Lik is derived from Old English ġelīċ (“like, similar”), from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“like, similar; equal”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leyg- (“like, similar; even, level”). The English word is analysable as like (adjective) + -en (suffix forming verbs with the sense ‘to make [adjective]’).
Words formed from liken
- disliken
- likenable
- likener
- likening
- unliken
- unlikenable
- unlikening
Words that rhyme with liken
Questions about liken
- What does liken mean?
- Liken means followed by to or (archaic) unto: to regard or state that (someone or something) is like another person or thing; to compare.
- What is liken in Tamil?
- Liken in Tamil is ஒப்பி (oppi). See Liken meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use liken in a sentence?
- Me thinkes therefore, that of all of the Græcian Captaines I can liken none ſo vvell vnto him, as Eumenes the Cardian.
- What part of speech is liken?
- Liken is a verb.
- How do you pronounce liken?
- Liken is pronounced /ˈlaɪk(ə)n/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of liken?
- The past tense of liken is likened.
Words near liken in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: liken (page history and authors); ஒப்பி (Tamil) (page history and authors); liken (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); liken (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); liken (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-liken.wav.
Cite this entry: “liken.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/liken. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.