brighten

C2+ Topic:Cause, Change & Process

US /ˈbraɪtən/ UK /ˈbraɪtən/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to make or become brighter or more cheerful

A few flowers can brighten the dullest room.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make or become brighter... illuminate lighten cheer enliven gladdenperk

Opposites

darken dim dull sadden dampen

Word family

Derived forms brightenerbrightening

Related forms bright brightness

Etymology

From bright (Old English beorht, 'shining, radiant') + the verb-forming suffix -en. Old English beorht descends from Proto-Germanic *berhtaz.

beorht Old English *berhtaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cause, Change & Process Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

# brighten

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ˈbraɪtən
**IPA (UK):** ˈbraɪtən

## Meanings
1. to make or become brighter or more cheerful

## Examples
- A few flowers can brighten the dullest room.

## Synonyms
- illuminate
- lighten
- cheer
- enliven
- gladden
- perk

## Antonyms
- darken
- dim
- dull
- sadden
- dampen

## Derived Forms
- brightener
- brightening

## Related Forms
- bright
- brightness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: beorht
- Root: *berhtaz

## Etymology
From bright (Old English beorht, 'shining, radiant') + the verb-forming suffix -en. Old English beorht descends from Proto-Germanic *berhtaz.

## AI Etymology
Brighten is from bright (Old English beorht, 'shining, radiant') + the verb-forming suffix -en. Old English beorht descends from Proto-Germanic *berhtaz. Important recorded forms include beorht (Old English) and *berhtaz (Proto-Germanic). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers to make or become brighter or more cheerful. The wider family includes derived forms such as brightener and brightening and related words such as bright and brightness.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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brighten

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