Evened

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈiːvənd/

Definitions

1. Made something flat or smooth by removing irregularities or bumps ; brought things into balance or equality, often in score or amount
2. Smoothed out an uneven surface to create a flat plane ; equalized or balanced quantities, scores, or conditions
3. Altered a surface to be level and uniform ; adjusted amounts or conditions so they correspond or become fair

Etymology: "Evened" is simply the past tense and participle of "even," so the real story lies in the base word. "Even" comes from Old English "efen," meaning level, smooth, or flat, a sense it kept for centuries before "equal" and "fair" developed. The earlier sense of level ground survives in the idea of making a surface flush, which is what the verb's first meaning describes. The adjective's sense of equal amounts grew naturally from that picture of things lying flat and matching. The verb "to even" followed the adjective into English, appearing in the sense of making level or equal, and the past tense "evened" simply inherits that meaning. It is a plain formation with no dramatic detour: an adjective turned verb, then inflected by the regular "-ed" ending.

Synonyms: equalized, leveled, balanced, flattened, standardized

Antonyms: unevened, differentiated, disturbed, varied, unbalanced