lighten

¹

[lahyt-n]

verb (used without object)

1. to become lighter or less dark; brighten.

   The sky lightened after the storm.

2. to brighten or light up, as the eyes or features.

   Her face lightened when she heard the good news.

3. to flash as or like lightning (often used impersonally with it as subject).

   It thundered and lightened for hours.

4. Archaic.,  to shine, gleam, or be bright.

   steel blades lightening in the sun.

verb (used with object)

1. to give light to; illuminate.

   A full moon lightened the road.

2. to brighten (the eyes, features, etc.).

   A large smile lightened his face.

3. to make lighter or less dark.

   Add white to lighten the paint.

4. Obsolete.,  enlighten.

5. Obsolete.,  to flash or emit like lightning (usually followed by out, forth, ordown ).

   eyes that lightened forth implacable hatred.

lighten

²

[lahyt-n]

verb (used with object)

1. to make lighter in weight.

   to lighten the load on a truck.

2. to lessen the load of or upon.

   to lighten a cargo ship.

3. to make less burdensome or oppressive; alleviate; mitigate.

   to lighten taxes;

   to lighten someone's cares.

   Synonyms: reduce, lessen, ease
   Antonyms: aggravate

4. to cheer or gladden.

   Such news lightens my heart.

verb (used without object)

1. to become less severe, stringent, or harsh; ease up.

   Border inspections have lightened recently.

2. to become less heavy, cumbersome, burdensome, oppressive, etc..

   His worries seem to have lightened somewhat.

3. to become less gloomy; perk up.

   People's spirits usually lighten when spring arrives.

lighten

¹

/ ˈlaɪtən /

verb

1. to become or make light

2. (intr) to shine; glow

3. (intr) (of lightning) to flash

4. (tr) an archaic word for enlighten

lighten

²

/ ˈlaɪtən /

verb

1. to make or become less heavy

2. to make or become less burdensome or oppressive; mitigate

3. to make or become more cheerful or lively

Other Word Forms

• lightener noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lighten¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English lightnen; light ¹, -en ¹

Origin of lighten²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English lightnen; light ², -en ¹

Example Sentences

Girls and women with darker skin tones are called derogatory names and face discrimination; and skin lightening products make for big business, earning billions of dollars in profits.

From BBC

The cause of the blaze remains unknown, though lightening has been ruled out.

From BBC

Growing up on the East Coast and being a little person, I used comedy as a way to break the ice, and also be like, “Hey, let’s be funny and lighten the situation.”

From Los Angeles Times

Firefighters faced difficult conditions Sunday as dry thunderstorms brought increased wind and threatened lightening strikes that could ignite new fires, according to the briefing.

From Los Angeles Times

The storms that battered the Hill Country for the last four days began to lighten up, although isolated pockets of heavy rain were still possible.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• alleviate 
• ameliorate 
• cut down 
• dilute 
• ease 
• facilitate 
• lessen 
• mitigate 
• mollify 
• relieve