lighten

Lighten is a verb with several related senses, centered on reducing weight, brightness, or burden. It can mean to decrease mass or density, as when removing cargo to lighten a vehicle. It can also mean to increase lightness in color or tone, such as painting walls white to lighten a room or adjusting an image to lighten its exposure. Additionally, it can refer to improving mood or easing worry, as in lightening one’s spirits.

Common expressions include lighten up, meaning to become less serious or more relaxed, and lightening a load or burden in both physical and figurative contexts. In legal or administrative language, to lighten a sentence or penalties means to reduce their severity. The word appears in various tenses and forms, including lightens, lightened, and lightening, with the comparative form lighter.

Etymology and related terms: lighten derives from the adjective light, with the suffix -en forming a verb. Related terms include brighten (to increase brightness) and darken (to reduce light or brightness), offering contrast in discussions of color, lighting, and mood. The concept encompasses physical light, visual appearance, and emotional or practical ease, making it a versatile term in everyday language.