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light·en 1 (lītn)
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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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
light·en 2 (lītn)
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v. light·ened, light·en·ing, light·ens
v.tr.
1. To make less heavy: I lightened my backpack by removing a large textbook.
2. To lessen the severity or oppressiveness of: lighten the workload. See Synonyms at relieve.
3. To make less worried or more cheerful: lighten the mood.
v.intr.
1. To become less in weight.
2. To become less oppressive, troublesome, or severe.
3. To become cheerful: The mood lightened when the party started.
Phrasal Verb:
lighten up Informal
To take matters less seriously: Everything will work out fine, so stop worrying and lighten up.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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