Definition of 'brighten'
Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense brightens, present participle brightening, past tense, past participle brightened
1. intransitive verb
If someone brightens or their face brightens, they suddenly look happier.
2. intransitive verb
If your eyes brighten, you suddenly look interested or excited.
3. transitive verb
If someone or something brightens a place, they make it more colorful and attractive.
4. transitive verb/intransitive verb
If someone or something brightens a situation or the situation brightens, it becomes more pleasant, enjoyable, or favorable.
5. transitive verb/intransitive verb
When a light brightens a place or when a place brightens, it becomes brighter or lighter.
6. intransitive verb
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
brighten in American English
verb transitive, verb intransitive
1.
to make or become bright or brighter
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
brighten in American English
(ˈbraitn)
intransitive verb or transitive verb
SYNONYMS lighten; cheer, gladden, lift, hearten, perk up.ANTONYMS darken; deject, sadden.to become or make bright or brighter
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Examples of 'brighten' in a sentence
brighten
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In other languages
brighten
British English: brighten
VERB /ˈbraɪtən/
If someone brightens or their face brightens, they suddenly look happier.
Seeing him, she seemed to brighten a little.
- American English: brighten /ˈbraɪtən/
- Brazilian Portuguese: iluminar-se
- Chinese: 变得开心
- European Spanish: animarse
- French: s'égayer
- German: sich aufheitern
- Italian: rallegrarsi
- Japanese: 表情が明るく見える
- Korean: 밝아지다얼굴이
- European Portuguese: iluminar-se
- Spanish: animarse
- Thai: ร่าเริงเบิกบาน
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Definition of brighten from the Collins English Dictionary
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