Synonyms for lighten
Definitions
- v. 1
To make brighter or clearer; to illuminate.
to lighten an apartment with lamps or gas; to lighten the streets
- v. 2
To become brighter or clearer; to brighten.
Related words
- Word family
- lightener
- Phrases
- lighten up
Forms
- Past participle
- lightened
e.g. lightened → lighted, brightened, illuminated, shined…
Choose the right word
Etymologically, to alleviate is to lift a burden toward oneself, and so lighten it for the bearer; to relieve is to lift it back from the bearer, nearly or quite away; to remove is to take it away altogether.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- shine The stars shine brightly in the vastness of space.
- illuminate The sun started to come out and illuminate the sky.
- brighten He was painting the walls to brighten up the room.
- enlighten The ray of wisdom must enlighten new horizons.
- relieve William taught Sandra to scream to relieve stress.
- alleviate How can Algeria alleviate the impact of inflation?
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| lighten | rising | |
| shine | rising | |
| illuminate | rising | |
| brighten | rising | |
| enlighten | steady | |
| relieve | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- ease1
- 5 letters
- light1, shine1, easen
- 6 letters
- illume
- 7 letters
- relieve2
- 8 letters
- mitigate3, brighten2, illumine, undarken
- 9 letters
- alleviate4, enlighten3, irradiate4
- 10 letters
- illuminate4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (relieve2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- alléger
- Italiano
- alleggerire
- Español
- aligerar
- Deutsch
- erleichtern
- Català
- alleugerir