enliven

What it means

1. archaictransitiveTo give life or spirit to; to revive or animate.

   Synonyms: inspirit, invigorate, quicken, vitalise, vivify

2. transitiveTo make more lively, cheerful or interesting.

   The game was much enlivened when both teams scored within five minutes of each other.

   2 more examples

   Travel is enlivened not only by the mixed company of French, Berbers, Arabs, and descendants of the Mediterranean-Corsairs who sit together indiscriminately, but also by itinerant vendors of macaroons, sweetmeats and the like, who, as long as they have a travel ticket, ply their wares unhindered by the [ticket] collectors.

   1950 May, “A Tunisian Electric Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 335

   The pace came off the match as the first half continued, with the occasional frenetic moment down the flanks enlivening what otherwise became a chess-like tactical battle.

   2023 August 7, Kieran Pender, “Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso fire Australia into quarter-finals with win over Denmark”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms: cheer up, liven, liven up, quicken

In a sentence

The game was much enlivened when both teams scored within five minutes of each other.

Where it comes from

From life + en- -en (intensifying verbal circumfix). See liven.