lightenlight‧en /ˈlaɪtn/ verb 
We should hire another secretary to lighten Barbara’s workload.2[intransitive, transitive] to become brighter or less dark, or to make something brighter etc OPP darken: As the sky lightened, we were able to see where we were.3[intransitive, transitive] if you lighten something such as a mood or atmosphere, or if it lightens, it becomes less sad or seriouslighten 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, transitive] to reduce the weight of something, or to become less heavy6lighten up spoken used to tell someone not to be so serious about something: You need to lighten up a bit.
VERB TABLE
lighten
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | lighten |
| he, she, it | lightens | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | lightened |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have lightened |
| he, she, it | has lightened | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had lightened |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will lighten |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have lightened |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am lightening |
| he, she, it | is lightening | |
| you, we, they | are lightening | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was lightening |
| you, we, they | were lightening | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been lightening |
| he, she, it | has been lightening | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been lightening |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be lightening |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been lightening |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- As the sky lightened, we could see the distant mountains.
- As weather conditions got worse, Watts and Peters abandoned their photographic equipment in order to lighten the load.
- I'm sure you could lighten that suitcase a little if you only packed what you need.
- Maybe we should hire another secretary to lighten Barbara's workload.
- School administrators are looking at ways to lighten teachers' workloads.
- Her Katherine is sparkling, strong and lightening fast.
- High above them the constant roof of clouds would merely lighten and darken in a long solar axial period of 116.8 days.
- On March 19 it passed a regulatory reform bill, which is intended to lighten the weight of government on small businesses.
- Only in the Scherzo and in certain passages in the Finale do they begin to lighten the texture sufficiently.
- This is the claim that industrialism had lightened the intensity of human productive activity.
- Wild knows how to lighten up and he does it with the digital mastery and temperament he has exhibited for many decades.
Longman Language Activatorto make something lighter
· They had taken out all the drawers to make it lighter, before carrying it down the stairs.· Many parts are now made from plastic instead of steel, making cars lighter and more fuel-efficient.
to make something lighter, especially in order to make it easier to move or carry: · I'm sure you could lighten that suitcase a little if you only packed what you need.lighten the load: · As weather conditions got worse, Watts and Peters abandoned their photographic equipment in order to lighten the load.
to reduce pain, worry, or unpleasant feelings · They gave him drugs to reduce the pain.· Prompt action can often reduce the severity of shock in road accident victims.· Miriam finds that yoga and meditation help her in reducing stress.greatly/significantly/dramatically reduce · Stopping smoking can significantly reduce your risk of suffering a heart attack.
to slightly reduce pain or bad feelings: · He shifted his position a little, in order to lessen the pain in his leg.· Everyone has their own ideas about the best way to lessen jet lag.· Boys are more likely to smoke to relieve stress than girls are.
to reduce the amount of work or worry that someone has: lighten somebody's load/workload: · Maybe we should hire another secretary to lighten Barbara's workload.
to make pain or feelings less unpleasant: · Peppermint has long been regarded as a plant that can relieve indigestion.· Magnetic board games can help relieve the boredom of long car journeys for kids.· Harry attempted a couple of jokes to relieve the tension of the occasion.
to reduce pain or unpleasant feelings and make someone feel happier or more comfortable: · Rod rubbed his jaw to ease the pain a little.· The arrival of the others eased her embarrassment slightly.
formal to reduce pain, make a problem less serious, or reduce feelings such as being bored or anxious: · You can't cure a common cold, but you can alleviate the symptoms.· Western aid has helped to alleviate the situation in northern India.
to reduce physical pain or emotional problems, especially with the result that you feel nothing at all: · They gave me a local anaesthetic to deaden the pain.· It was impossible not to think about her baby, but the drugs dulled her panic.
to make something such as pain, hunger, or a shock slightly less unpleasant or upsetting: · I took a couple of painkillers, which took the edge off the pain.· Knowing that Peter was close by took the edge off my anxiety for my grandson.
: allay somebody's fears/concern/suspicions etc formal to make someone much less frightened, concerned etc: · The government is anxious to allay public fears over the safety of beef.· Showing her his identity card went some way towards allaying her suspicions.
to tell someone to stop being too serious spoken use this to tell someone not to be so serious about something and to relax about it: · Hey, lighten up! It's only a game, you know!· "But we're not supposed to leave campus at lunchtime, we'll get into trouble.'' "Lighten up, it'll be fine.''
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY We should hire another secretary to lighten Barbara’s workload. As the sky lightened, we were able to see where we were. Nora didn’t respond to my attempts to lighten the conversation.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
We should hire another secretary to lighten Barbara’s workload. As the sky lightened, we were able to see where we were. Nora didn’t respond to my attempts to lighten the conversation.· Smaller classes would ease the burden for teachers.
(=make someone feel happier)· The sun was streaming in the window, but it did nothing to lighten his mood.
(=becoming lighter)· A plane flew across the lightening sky.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· He would lighten up and have some fun-he would do something different, something new.· Jones never learned to sing and rarely lightened up his sloganeering.· Wild knows how to lighten up and he does it with the digital mastery and temperament he has exhibited for many decades.· You're beginning to lighten up a bit.· With Clinique, he believes that people today want to lighten up and be, well, happy.· Send your details to. 50 free It's time to lighten up, courtesy of Jerome Russell.· She advises those still aghast at the Pia Zadora fiasco to lighten up.
NOUN· I smile at her to lighten the atmosphere.· There was no breeze to lighten the atmosphere.· The little mountains of earth scattered around didn't lighten the atmosphere, either.
· We intend to lighten the burden of capital taxes and reform the taxation of savings.· One of the main aims of the Michigan legislation was to lighten the prosecution's burden.· Resist oppression, lighten the burden of the underdog, spread understanding and reason.· Many poor people were grateful for anything which lightened their burden, others were resentful of patronage which went with it.· One way or another, though, we must have the scope to lighten our self-imposed burden of debt.· She fought against the sudden unexplainable impulse to tell him everything, to lighten the heavy burden of grieving alone.
· I trust that this review has helped at least somewhat to lighten that load.· He said school districts should reduce teacher paperwork, hire more clerical help and lighten teaching loads to reduce stress.· So how about a new 12-place setting dishwasher to lighten the load?· Having lightened its load, crews hoped to float the barge out to sea Tuesday.· Most probably they were thrown into the sea to lighten the load when the ship found itself in difficulties.
· Just trying to lighten the mood a bit.· The sun was streaming in through the window, yet it did nothing to lighten his mood.· Don't paint the red apple as seen, brighten and lighten its mood or subdue and cool its expression.
· As the road lengthened and the sky began to lighten overhead, they were able to see their surroundings more clearly.· Outside, the sky was just lightening up, which was more than I could say for myself.· The sky was beginning to lighten.· The upper reaches of the sky had lightened, but the valley was still sleeping in the pale blue predawn light.· Look - the sky is lightening.· Above him, the sky seemed to lighten.· Outside, the sky was already lightening.
VERB· Just trying to lighten the mood a bit.· Children often bring their own little containers, trying to lighten some of their family's burden.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
- Hey, lighten up! It's only a game, you know!
WORD FAMILYnounlightlighterlightinglightnessadjectivelightlightedunlitverblightlightenadverblightlylight
1[transitive] to reduce the amount of work, worry, debt etc that someone has OPP increaselighten the load/burden/workload We should hire another secretary to lighten Barbara’s workload.2[intransitive, transitive] to become brighter or less dark, or to make something brighter etc OPP darken: As the sky lightened, we were able to see where we were.3[intransitive, transitive] if you lighten something such as a mood or atmosphere, or if it lightens, it becomes less sad or seriouslighten 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, transitive] to reduce the weight of something, or to become less heavy6lighten up spoken used to tell someone not to be so serious about something: You need to lighten up a bit.