How to Use lighten in a Sentence

lighten

verb
  • Blunt asks, to lighten the mood.
    — Daniel D'addario, Variety, 12 Nov. 2025
  • Box mix cakes or no-bake desserts can help lighten the load.
    — Cody Godwin, USA Today, 21 Nov. 2025
  • That Jets fans would lighten my day.
    — Jacob Robinson, New York Times, 4 May 2026
  • To lighten the load, wear your bulkiest pieces on the plane.
    — Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 29 Nov. 2025
  • To lighten the load, wear your bulkiest pieces on the plane.
    — Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 23 June 2026
  • Look for sleeping bags with the least weight to lighten your load.
    — Kevin Cortez, Popular Mechanics, 28 Feb. 2023
  • Here's how to lighten your hair without it.
    — Caroline C. Boyle, USA Today, 20 Feb. 2026
  • The crowds have lightened over the decades, but the game endures.
    — Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 29 Jan. 2026
  • Teodosio said that base hit lightened his load for the rest of the night.
    — Dan Arritt, Oc Register, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Its base is eggs, with just a touch of cream or milk to lighten the mixture.
    — Melissa Gray, Southern Living, 30 Aug. 2023
  • Dab a few times to remove or lighten the stain, then press with a dry cloth.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 5 July 2026
  • The garnish is a corn and mint salad to lighten it up just a bit.
    — Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2021
  • The legs are painted white to lighten the visual weight of the piece.
    — Zoe Gowen, Southern Living, 29 Dec. 2025
  • Fold about one-third of the egg whites into cake batter to lighten.
    — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 May 2026
  • Its role is to lighten things up and dilute some of the stronger flavors a touch.
    — Lizzy Briskin, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Mar. 2026
  • Would the 49ers lighten the load for their workhorse?
    — Noah Furtado, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Sparkling water lightens it, but play around with the ratios.
    — Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Dark green foliage lightens toward the branch tips.
    — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 14 May 2026
  • Dark green foliage lightens toward the branch tips.
    — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 24 June 2026
  • Dark green foliage lightens toward the branch tips.
    — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 24 Aug. 2025
  • From duffels to backpacks to cross-body bags, these picks are built to lighten the load.
    — Christopher Murray May Earn A Commission If You Buy Through Our Referral Links. This Content Was Created By A Team That Works Independently From The Fox Newsroom., FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2025
  • The energy lightens and speeds up in the final third of the month.
    — Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 30 Dec. 2025
  • There are many other ways to lighten the mental load in our daily lives.
    — Ana Morales, Glamour, 18 Oct. 2023
  • Some touches of humor relieved and lightened the mood from time to time.
    — Dan Hathaway, cleveland, 29 July 2023
  • Sunshine Sean needs to lighten the mood and brighten the room.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 23 Sep. 2025
  • Cheo was a jokester and would play tricks on her, like pretending to be asleep, to lighten the mood.
    — Kevin G. Hall, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Zoomed photos of zipper and hair have been lightened to show detail.
    — Mark Landler, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024
  • This can lighten the load on the seller and its management team.
    — Allbusiness, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
  • Layering lightens the hair and keeps it from feeling bulky and heavy.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 1 Apr. 2026
  • To help lighten the mood, Buress cracked jokes all day, Paul said.
    — Chris Bumbaca, USA TODAY, 17 Oct. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lighten.' 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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