lighten

light·en ¹  (ltn)

v. light·ened, light·en·ing, light·ens

v.tr.

1.

a. To make light or lighter; illuminate or brighten.

b. 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.

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light·en ²  (ltn)

v. light·ened, light·en·ing, light·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

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

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lighten¹

vb

1. to become or make light

2. (intr) to shine; glow

3. (intr) (of lightning) to flash

4. (tr) an archaic word for enlighten

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lighten²

vb

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

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	lighten - make more cheerful; "the conversation lightened me up a bit" lighten up, buoy up cheer - show approval or good wishes by shouting; "everybody cheered the birthday boy" weigh down, weigh on - be oppressive or disheartening to
	2.	lighten - reduce the weight on; make lighter; "she lightened the load on the tired donkey" disburden, unburden - take the burden off; remove the burden from; "unburden the donkey"
	3.	lighten - become more cheerful; "after a glass of wine, he lightened up a bit" buoy up, lighten up chirk up, cheer up, cheer - become cheerful
	4.	lighten - make lighter or brighter; "The paint will brighten the room" brighten, lighten up alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue"
	5.	lighten - become lighter; "The room lightened up" lighten up change - undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night" irradiate - cast rays of light upon illume, illuminate, illumine, light, light up - make lighter or brighter; "This lamp lightens the room a bit" darken - become dark or darker; "The sky darkened"
	6.	lighten - 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" relieve mitigate - make less severe or harsh; "mitigating circumstances"

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lighten¹

verb brighten, flash, shine, illuminate, gleam, light up, irradiate, become light, make bright The sky began to lighten.

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lighten²

verb

1. ease, relieve, alleviate, allay, reduce, facilitate, lessen, mitigate, assuage He felt the need to lighten the atmosphere.
ease intensify, worsen, heighten, aggravate, make worse

2. cheer, lift, revive, brighten, hearten, perk up, buoy up, gladden, elate Here's a little something to lighten your spirits.
cheer depress, sadden, weigh down

3. make lighter, ease, disburden, reduce in weight Blending with a food processor lightens the mixture.

Translations

lighten¹ [ˈlaɪtn]

A. VT [+ room] → iluminar más; [+ sky] → iluminar; [+ color] → hacer más claro

B. VI [sky] → clarear (Met) → relampaguear

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lighten² [ˈlaɪtn]

A. VT [+ load] → aligerar, hacer menos pesado (fig) (= make cheerful) [+ atmosphere] → relajar; [+ heart] → alegrar; (= reduce) [+ cares] → aliviar

B. VI [load] → aligerarse, hacerse menos pesado; [heart] → alegrarse

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lighten [ˈlaɪt^ən]

vi

[sky] → s'éclaircir

[mood] → s'égayer

vt (= make lighter in colour) [+ shade] → éclaircir
to lighten one's hair → s'éclaircir les cheveux

(= make less heavy) [+ object, load, burden] → alléger
to lighten one's burden (fig) → se soulager d'un fardeau
In sharing this secret you lighten your burden → En confiant ce secret, tu te soulages d'un fardeau.
to lighten sb's load (fig) → alléger la charge de qn
By doing this you are lightening the load of hospital doctors → En procédant ainsi, vous allégez la charge des médecins hospitaliers.
to lighten sb's burden (fig) → alléger le fardeau de qn

[+ mixture, dish] → alléger

(= make more cheerful) [+ mood, atmosphere] → égayer
light entertainment n → divertissement m léger, variétés fpl

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lighten¹

vt → erhellen; colour, hair → aufhellen; gloom → aufheitern

vi → hell werden, sich aufhellen; (mood) → sich heben; (atmosphere) → sich entspannen; to thunder and lighten (Met) → donnern und blitzen

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lighten²

vt load → leichter machen; to lighten a ship’s cargo → ein Schiff leichtern; to lighten somebody’s burden or load (fig) → jds Lage erleichtern; to lighten somebody’s workload → jdm etwas Arbeit abnehmen; the good news lightened her heart → die gute Nachricht machte ihr das Herz leichter

vi (load) → leichter werden; her heart lightened → ihr wurde leichter ums Herz

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lighten¹ [ˈlaɪtn]

1. vt (darkness) → rischiarare, illuminare; (hair, colour) → schiarire

2. vi → schiarirsi; (room) → rischiararsi

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lighten² [ˈlaɪtn] vt (load) → alleggerire (fig) (make cheerful, heart, atmosphere) → sollevare

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lighten light ~light