Transcription
-
- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
-
- [lahyt-n]
- /ˈlaɪt n/
- /ˈlaɪ.tən/
-
- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [lahyt-n]
- /ˈlaɪt n/
Definitions of lighten word
- verb without object lighten to become less severe, stringent, or harsh; ease up: Border inspections have lightened recently. 1
- verb without object lighten to become less heavy, cumbersome, burdensome, oppressive, etc.: His worries seem to have lightened somewhat. 1
- verb without object lighten to become less gloomy; perk up: People's spirits usually lighten when spring arrives. 1
- verb with object lighten to make lighter in weight: to lighten the load on a truck. 1
- verb with object lighten to lessen the load of or upon: to lighten a cargo ship. 1
- verb with object lighten to make less burdensome or oppressive; alleviate; mitigate: to lighten taxes; to lighten someone's cares. 1
Information block about the term
Origin of lighten
First appearance:
before 1300 One of the 15% oldest English words
1300-50; Middle English lightnen; see light1, -en1
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Lighten
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
lighten popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 90% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
lighten usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for lighten
verb lighten
- brighten — If someone brightens or their face brightens, they suddenly look happier.
- shine — to give forth or glow with light; shed or cast light.
- irradiate — to shed rays of light upon; illuminate.
- light — a light product, as a beer or cigarette.
- flash — a precedence code for handling messages about initial enemy contact or operational combat messages of extreme urgency within the U.S. military.
adjective lighten
- dumper — to drop or let fall in a mass; fling down or drop heavily or suddenly: Dump the topsoil here.
- out with it — a command to make something known immediately, without missing any details
- get off one's chest — Anatomy. the trunk of the body from the neck to the abdomen; thorax.
- unbosom — to disclose (a confidence, secret, etc.).
- shaker — a person or thing that shakes.
Antonyms for lighten
verb lighten
- darken — If something darkens or if a person or thing darkens it, it becomes darker.
- dim — DIM statement
- burden — If you describe a problem or a responsibility as a burden, you mean that it causes someone a lot of difficulty, worry, or hard work.
- weigh down — to determine or ascertain the force that gravitation exerts upon (a person or thing) by use of a balance, scale, or other mechanical device: to weigh oneself; to weigh potatoes; to weigh gases.
- bring down — When people or events bring down a government or ruler, they cause the government or ruler to lose power.
Top questions with lighten
- how to lighten hair?
- how to lighten skin?
- how to naturally lighten hair?
- how to lighten your hair?
- how to lighten hair naturally?
- how to naturally lighten your hair?
- how to lighten dyed hair?
- how to lighten your skin?
- how to lighten black hair?
- how to lighten lips?
- how to lighten dark hair?
- how to lighten eyebrows?
- how to lighten underarms?
- how to lighten hair with lemon juice?
- how to lighten hair without bleach?
See also
Matching words
- Words starting with l
- Words starting with li
- Words starting with lig
- Words starting with ligh
- Words starting with light
- Words starting with lighte
- Words starting with lighten