lighten

v., -ened, -en·ing, -ens.

v.tr.

1. 1. To make light or lighter; illuminate or brighten.
   2. To make (a color) lighter.
2. Archaic. To enlighten.

v.intr.

1. To become lighter; brighten.
2. To be luminous; shine.
3. To give off flashes of lightning.

light·en² (līt'n)

v., -ened, -en·ing, -ens.

v.tr.

1. To make less heavy.
2. To lessen the oppressiveness, trouble, or severity of. See synonyms at relieve.
3. To relieve of cares or worries; gladden.

v.intr.

1. To become less in weight.
2. To become less oppressive, troublesome, or severe.
3. To become cheerful.

phrasal verb:

lighten up Informal.

1. To take matters less seriously: Everything will work out fine, so stop worrying and lighten up.

verb

1. To provide, cover, or fill with light: illume, illuminate, illumine, light¹. See light/darkness.
2. To become brighter or fairer: brighten, clear (up). See clear/unclear.

lighten²

verb

To make less severe or more bearable: allay, alleviate, assuage, comfort, ease, lessen, mitigate, palliate, relieve. See increase/decrease.

v

Definition: cheer up; inspire
Antonyms: bring down, burden, depress, upset

v

Definition: illuminate
Antonyms: blacken, darken, dim, dull

v

Definition: reduce
Antonyms: burden, increase, intensify, weigh down

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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The verb has 5 meanings:

Meaning #1: make more cheerful
  Synonym: buoy up
  Antonym: weigh down (meaning #1)

Meaning #2: make more cheerful
  Synonym: buoy up

Meaning #3: make lighter or brighter
  Synonyms: brighten, lighten up

Meaning #4: become brighter
  Synonym: brighten

Meaning #5: become lighter
  Synonym: lighten up

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Dansk (Danish)
1.
v. tr. - oplyse, sprede lys, gøre lysere, blive lysere, lysne, klare op, lyne, glimte
v. intr. - blive lysere, lysne, klare op, lyne, glimte

idioms:

• lighten up    klare op

2.
v. intr. - lette, blive lettere
v. tr. - lette, opmuntre

idioms:

• lighten one's burden    lette ens byrde
• lighten one's load    lette ens byrde

Nederlands (Dutch)
verlichten, ontlasten, flitsen, lichter/helderder (doen) worden, opluchting veroorzaken, opvrolijken, opklaren, bliksemen

Français (French)
1.
v. tr. - éclairer, rendre plus clair, éclaircir (une couleur)
v. intr. - s'éclairer (une expression), s'illuminer

idioms:

• lighten up    se détendre, se dérider

2.
v. intr. - soulager, être soulagé
v. tr. - alléger, réduire le poids de, délester (un navire)

idioms:

• lighten one's burden    alléger son fardeau
• lighten one's load    alléger son fardeau, se faciliter la vie

Deutsch (German)
1.
v. - erhellen, (sich) aufhellen, leuchten, beleuchten

idioms:

• lighten up    aufheitern

2.
v. - leichter machen, erleichtern, leichter werden

idioms:

• lighten one's burden    jmdn. entlasten
• lighten one's load    jmdn. entlasten

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - φωτίζω/-ομαι, αμβλύνω, ελαφρύνω, κάνω πιο ανοιχτόχρωμο, αστράφτω

idioms:

• lighten one's burden    ελαφρύνω το φορτίο
• lighten one's load    ελαφρύνω το φορτίο
• lighten up    ξαλαφρώνω, χαλαρώνω

Italiano (Italian)
illuminare, agevolare, alleggerire, schiarire, lampeggiare

idioms:

• lighten one's burden/load    scaricarsi del peso
• lighten up    rallegrare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - iluminar, esclarecer, aliviar, suavizar, alegrar, clarear, brilhar

idioms:

• lighten one's burden/load    aliviar o peso/carga de alguém
• lighten up    dizer a alguém para não se preocupar com algo

Русский (Russian)
освещать, вспыхивать, облегчать, смягчать

idioms:

• lighten one's burden/load    облегчить ношу
• lighten up    делать менее серьезным

Español (Spanish)
1.
v. tr. - alumbrar, iluminar, clarear, relampaguear
v. intr. - iluminarse, aclararse

idioms:

• lighten up    alegrar, animar

2.
v. intr. - aligerarse, hacerse más ligero, alivianarse
v. tr. - facilitar, hacer más fácil, aligerar, descargar, alijar

idioms:

• lighten one's burden    aliviar la situación, aligerar, descargar, llevar alivio, consolar
• lighten one's load    aliviar la situación, aligerar, descargar, hacer que disminuya o alivie una preocupación

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - lätta, göra lättare, lindra, bli lättare, (litt.) lysa upp, upplysa, göra ljus, ljusna, klarna, blixtra, ljunga

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 使光明, 照亮, 闪电般发出, 使变淡, 变亮, 打闪电, 发亮

idioms:

• lighten one's burden    减轻某人负担
• lighten one's load    减轻某人的负担
• lighten up    照亮, 冷静下来

2. 减轻, 使愉快, 使轻松, 变轻, 变得愉快, 变得轻松

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
v. tr. - 使光明, 照亮, 閃電般發出, 使變淡
v. intr. - 變亮, 打閃電, 發亮

idioms:

• lighten one's burden    減輕某人負擔
• lighten one's load    減輕某人的負擔
• lighten up    照亮, 冷靜下來

2.
v. tr. - 減輕, 使愉快, 使輕鬆
v. intr. - 變輕, 變得愉快, 變得輕鬆

한국어 (Korean)
1.
v. tr. - ~을 밝게 하다, 빛나게 하다, 연하게 하다
v. intr. - 밝아지다, 번쩍 빛나다, 환해지다, 색이 없어지다

idioms:

• lighten up    침착해, 걱정하지마

2.
v. intr. - 완화되다, 가벼워지다, 명랑해지다
v. tr. - 가볍게 하다, 경감하다, ~을 활기 띄게 하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 明るくする, 照らす, 明るくなる, 稲妻が光る, 軽くする, 緩和する, 明白にする, 輝かせる

idioms:

• lighten one's burden/load    負担を軽くする

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يخفف, يبهج, يلطف, يضئ, ينير, يسطع, يومض, يبرق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮האיר, הבהיר‬
v. intr. - ‮התבהר, זרח, הואר, נצנץ‬
v. intr. - ‮הקל, הוריד מהעומס, שיכך כאב או הקל על מחלה‬
v. tr. - ‮הוקל‬

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