lighten
[verb]
brighten, become light, illuminate, irradiate, light up
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[verb]
Synonyms:
- ease, allay, alleviate, ameliorate, assuage, lessen, mitigate, reduce, relieve
- cheer, brighten, buoy up, lift, perk up, revive

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Antonyms: darken
Contrasted words: depress, oppress, weigh
Related Words: attenuate, dilute, extenuate, thin

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

light‧en /ˈlaɪtn/ verb
[Word Family: noun: light, lighter, lighting, lightness; adjective: light, lighted, unlit; verb: light, lighten; adverb: lightly, light]

1. [transitive] to reduce the amount of work, worry, debt etc that someone has Antonym : increase
lighten the load/burden/workload
We should hire another secretary to lighten Barbara’s workload.

2. [intransitive and transitive] to become brighter or less dark, or to make something brighter etc Antonym : darken:
As the sky lightened, we were able to see where we were.

3. [intransitive and transitive] if you lighten something such as a mood or atmosphere, or if it lightens, it becomes less sad or serious
lighten the atmosphere/mood/conversation
Nora didn’t respond to my attempts to lighten the conversation.

4. [intransitive] if someone’s face or expression lightens, they begin to look more cheerful:
His whole face would lighten when anyone mentioned Nancy.

5. [intransitive and transitive] to reduce the weight of something, or to become less heavy

6. lighten up spoken used to tell someone not to be so serious about something:
You need to lighten up a bit.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

lighten
lighten (someone's)/the load
to make a difficult or upsetting situation easier to deal with.
Anyway, we'll be getting a temp in next month to do some of this work so that should lighten your load.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

lighten someone's
lighten (someone's)/the load
to make a difficult or upsetting situation easier to deal with.
Anyway, we'll be getting a temp in next month to do some of this work so that should lighten your load.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲