lighten

/'laitn/

Thân thiện

She used a soft lamp to lighten the dark corner of the room.

Definition

1. Verb (Transitive):

   • To make something less heavy in weight: To reduce the physical weight of an object or load.
   • To make something less dark or to brighten: To increase the amount of light in a place or on an object.
   • To make something less severe, burdensome, or depressing: To alleviate pressure, stress, worry, or a somber mood.

2. Verb (Intransitive):

   • To become less heavy in weight: To decrease in physical weight.
   • To become brighter: To increase in illumination.
   • To become less severe or more cheerful: To become happier or less serious in mood or tone.

Usage Examples

• Verb (Transitive):

  • She used a pulley to lighten the heavy crate. (She reduced the crate's effective weight.)
  • We painted the walls white to lighten the dark room. (We made the room brighter.)
  • His joke helped to lighten the tense atmosphere in the meeting. (His joke made the atmosphere less tense.)

• Verb (Intransitive):

  • Her backpack lightened as she consumed her supplies. (Her backpack became less heavy.)
  • The sky began to lighten just before dawn. (The sky became brighter.)
  • After talking to a friend, her mood lightened considerably. (Her mood became more cheerful.)

Advanced Usage

• "to lighten up" (phrasal verb, intransitive): To become less serious, more relaxed, or more cheerful.
  • You need to lighten up and not take everything so personally. (You need to become less serious.)
• "to lighten up" (phrasal verb, transitive): To make someone or something less serious or more cheerful.
  • A good comedy can lighten up your whole day. (A good comedy can make your day more cheerful.)

Variants and Related Words

• Light (adj/n/v): The base word meaning not heavy, illumination, or to ignite.
• Lightening (n): The process of making something lighter. (Note: This is different from "lightning," which is an electrical discharge in the sky.)
• Lightener (n): A substance or agent that lightens, e.g., hair lightener.

Synonyms

• Alleviate: To make (suffering, deficiency, or a problem) less severe.
• Brighten: To make or become more light or colorful; to make more cheerful.
• Ease: To make (something unpleasant or intense) less serious or severe.
• Reduce: To make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Lighten up: (As defined in Advanced Usage).
• Lighten the load: To reduce the amount of work, responsibility, or burden someone has to carry.
  • Hiring an assistant really helped to lighten her load. (Hiring an assistant reduced her workload.)

Related Idioms

• A lightening of the spirit: A feeling of relief from worry or sadness.
  • Walking in the forest brought about a lightening of her spirit. (Walking in the forest made her feel much less sad.)
• Nothing to lighten the heart: Nothing to provide cheer or relief from gloom.
  • The news was all bad, with nothing to lighten the heart. (The news was uniformly depressing.)

Học thuật

Verb

1. alleviate or remove (pressure or stress) or make less oppressive
   • relieve the pressure and the stress
   • lighten the burden of caring for her elderly parents
2. become lighter
   • The room lightened up
3. make lighter or brighter
   • The paint will brighten the room
4. become more cheerful
   • after a glass of wine, he lightened up a bit
5. reduce the weight on; make lighter
   • she lightened the load on the tired donkey
6. make more cheerful
   • the conversation lightened me up a bit

Từ đồng nghĩa

• relieve
• lighten up
• brighten
• buoy up