brightened 1 of 2

adjective

as in illuminated
filled with much light the brightened room is now a much more cheerful place for the recuperating patients

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

brightened

2 of 2

verb

past tense of brighten
as in lightened
to become glad or hopeful the glum soccer player started to brighten upon being told that his injury would not jeopardize his career

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of brightened
Verb
And then the whole restaurant would have their days brightened when LeMay and Ward would burst into song, loud enough for everyone to hear. — Heath Kalb, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 The rapper’s makeup was soft and dreamy, featuring an impactful pink blush that brightened the face and pink glossy lips lined with a darker pencil for definition. — Amina Ayoud, Footwear News, 18 Oct. 2026 This creamy, comforting bowl is packed with sausage, potatoes, and a rich cheese broth, brightened with mustard and green onion. — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Oct. 2026 The green is equally luscious in texture, made with chicken thigh and skin, but intensely herbaceous, brightened with parsley, cilantro, poblano and jalapeño. — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026 In its latest incarnation, designed by the firm S9, the curtain wall has darkened and the electronic billboards brightened, so that the tower resembles a TV mount, more apparatus than architecture. — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 1 Oct. 2026 In a hospital room brightened with pink balloons and flowers on Friday, the new parents were overcome with emotion. — ABC News, 11 Sep. 2026 With its Manuka honey heart, the scent is brightened by orange blossom and mandarin before settling into tonka, vanilla, and sandalwood. — Lauren Valenti, InStyle, 9 Sep. 2026 Hamilton’s city streets are brightened by more than 100 large-scale murals, a variety of different galleries, and a monthly art walk. — Maryam Siddiqi, Travel + Leisure, 9 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brightened
  1. illuminated
  2. lightened
  3. illumined
  4. glowed
  5. light
  6. revived
  7. bright
Adjective
  • Slanted vertical light animations frame an illuminated lightning bolt emblem.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Near the brightly illuminated planet Adrian, background stars were therefore largely absent.
    — Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of illuminated
Verb
  • The service is not suitable for very fine hair or hair that has been heavily bleached or lightened.
    — Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Diaz’s blonde strands were lightened to an ashy platinum hue and trimmed to her shoulders.
    — Hannah Malach, InStyle, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of lightened
Adjective
  • The backdrop is brightly illumined screens that hurt your eyes.
    — Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of illumined
Verb
  • Down the hallway inside the black box theater, a light installation by Studio GUMGUM glowed like radioactive flora.
    — Laura Regensdorf, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Their living structures glowed at night a hundred miles up and down the coast.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of glowed
Adjective
  • The bike could surely be quite a bit lighter without the folding capability, but Lectric has made the entire Trike2 range foldable, so that's that!
    — Loz Blain October 26, New Atlas, 27 Oct. 2026
  • To speed up the mission and reduce risk, the initial moon walkers will wear a lighter, less complex space suit than the one still under development by Axiom Space for longer, subsequent excursions.
    — Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of light
Verb
  • The two revived the tradition one Mother’s Day as Bellorado-Samuels found herself on the hunt for more space.
    — Sean Santiago, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Apu is being revived amid a climate of rising anti-South Asian and Indian hate.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of revived
Adjective
  • An exuberant pre-dawn sky — filled with large, bright stars, a luminous crescent moon, and blue and white swirls — dominates the landscape featuring a prominent cypress tree and distant hillside village.
    — Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
  • But the only picture mode that comes close to being that bright also has a notably green bias and ramps up the fan noise to a level that almost anyone will consider intolerable.
    — M. David Stone, PC Magazine, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of bright

Browse Nearby Words

brighten
brightened
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Cite this Entry

“Brightened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brightened. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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