lighten

Verb

Verb Forms: lightened, lightening, lightens

To make something less heavy or burdensome.
make more cheerful
- "the conversation lightened me up a bit"
reduce the weight on; make lighter
- "she lightened the load on the tired donkey"
become more cheerful
- "after a glass of wine, he lightened up a bit"
make lighter or brighter
become lighter
- "The room lightened up"
alleviate or remove (pressure or stress) or make less oppressive
- "lighten the burden of caring for her elderly parents"
To make brighter or clearer; to illuminate.
To become brighter or clearer; to brighten.
To flash lightning, to give off lightning.
To emit or disclose in, or as if in, lightning; to flash out, like lightning.
To illuminate with knowledge.
To alleviate; to reduce the burden of.
To make light or lighter in weight.
To make less serious or more cheerful.
To become light or lighter in weight.
To become less serious or more cheerful.
To descend; to light.

Examples

He managed to LIGHTEN his rack of unwanted vowels with one clever word in Words With Friends.
Sorrow can be lightened by being openly brought out.
to lighten an apartment with lamps or gas; to lighten the streets

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English lightnen, equivalent to light + -en.

Synonyms

brighten, buoy up, lighten up, relieve, enlighten, light up

Antonyms

darken, weigh down

Scrabble Score: 11

lighten: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
lighten: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
lighten: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

lighten: valid Words With Friends Word