How to Use brighten in a Sentence

brighten

verb
  • The sky brightened after the storm.
  • The good news brightened her mood.
  • He brightened the picture on the television.
  • Her face brightened in relief when she heard that he was not hurt.
  • Flowers can brighten any room.
  • Business prospects brightened last month.
  • One way to brighten up the mood?
    — Shagun Khare, The Spruce, 15 Feb. 2026
  • The acid help brightens your food.
    — Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 27 Sep. 2025
  • The acid help brightens your food.
    — Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 26 June 2026
  • Share a song with a friend to brighten their day.
    — Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 28 May 2026
  • Share this with friends who need their day brightened.
    — Ronnie Li, USA Today, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Finn was a sweet soul, who brightened all of our lives.
    — Bridget Fogarty, jsonline.com, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The white walls help bounce the light the lamps cast and brighten the space.
    — Kathryn O’Shea-Evans, WSJ, 16 Oct. 2020
  • The best that can happen is that their mood gets brightened.
    — Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 14 Feb. 2026
  • In the market for a new eye cream that brightens and depuffs?
    — Sarah Han, Allure, 19 Oct. 2023
  • The for dark circles can do more than just brighten your skin.
    — Women's Health, 8 Feb. 2023
  • This ombré pair brightens it from end to end and draws eyes up.
    — Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 25 Apr. 2023
  • Her sassy lines are gold, and Tevlin brightens the whole screen.
    — Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2023
  • Sara had a smile that would brighten up your most dreary of days.
    — Bill Bowden, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2021
  • String lights overhead brighten the space once the sun goes down.
    — Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Aug. 2024
  • Use our step-by-step guide to brighten it up and bring some life to your room.
    — Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 1 Jan. 2026
  • Here, her glossy bronde is brightened by traces of copper.
    — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 11 Mar. 2026
  • The cream may brighten and de-puff eyes in as little as four weeks.
    — Jasmine Gomez, Women's Health, 9 Sep. 2023
  • These plants, like most ferns, will brighten up your bathroom.
    — Lauren Wellbank, Martha Stewart, 2 May 2026
  • Adding a plant to their home office is an easy way to brighten up their space.
    — Kami Phillips, CNN Underscored, 25 Nov. 2020
  • Spinach and lemon juice are stirred in at the end to brighten and round out this one-dish meal.
    — Erin Merhar, Southern Living, 19 Apr. 2026
  • The light that shone from Red Beard’s joints brightened.
    — Will MacKin, New Yorker, 28 June 2026
  • Share this with a friend and brighten their Monday too.
    — Ronnie Li, USA Today, 23 Mar. 2026
  • Plus, the red and green tones on the label are sure to brighten up any room in your home.
    — Melody Kazel, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Always there with a smile and a one-liner to brighten your day.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brighten.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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