1
lighten sth
及物用法中，宾语常为 atmosphere、mood 等抽象名词，表示“使变得轻松”；也可接 load、burden 等，表示“减轻”。
A few jokes lightened the tense atmosphere.
几句笑话缓和了紧张的气氛。
（使）变得愉快；（使）轻松
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
（使）变得愉快；（使）轻松
make or become more cheerful
A few jokes lightened the tense atmosphere.
几句笑话缓和了紧张的气氛。
使更明亮或更清晰；照亮。
To make brighter or clearer; to illuminate.
减轻；减少负担。
To alleviate; to reduce the burden of.
下降；落下
To descend; to light.
变得更明亮或更清晰；变亮。
To become brighter or clearer; to brighten.
lighten
Base
原形
lightens
3rd person
第三人称单数
lightening
-ing
现在分词
lightened
Past
过去式
lightened
Past participle
过去分词
Light colors lighten a small room.
浅色使小房间显得更明亮。
Her smile lightened his heart.
她的微笑让他心情轻松起来。
The team has lightened my workload this week.
这周团队已经减轻了我的工作量。
lighten 可表示“减轻负担”“使明亮”或“使心情轻松”，作不及物动词时还指“变亮、变轻”。
A few jokes can lighten the mood during a long meeting.
在长会中，几个笑话就能让气氛轻松起来。
Her apology lightened the tension between them.
她的道歉缓和了他们之间的紧张关系。
The good news has lightened everyone's spirits.
这个好消息使大家精神振奋起来。
及物用法中，宾语常为 atmosphere、mood 等抽象名词，表示“使变得轻松”；也可接 load、burden 等，表示“减轻”。
A few jokes lightened the tense atmosphere.
几句笑话缓和了紧张的气氛。
不及物用法表示“变亮、变轻或变得轻松”，主语可为天气、物件或人。
The sky lightened after the rain stopped.
雨停后，天空变亮了。
Not this
The box is too heavy; could you light it?
Use this
The box is too heavy; could you lighten it?
表示“把……变轻”应用动词 lighten；light 虽可作动词，但意为“点燃/照亮”，不能表示“减轻重量”，这是易混词用错。
Not this
This shirt is lightened than that one.
Use this
This shirt is lighter than that one.
lighten 是动词，过去分词 lightened 不能当形容词用于比较级；表示“更轻的”要用形容词 light 的比较级 lighter。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
减轻负担
We hired an assistant to lighten the load for the whole team.
我们雇了一名助理来减轻整个团队的负担。
使气氛轻松起来
She told a funny story to lighten the mood during the meeting.
她讲了个有趣的故事，让会议的气氛轻松起来。
放松点；别那么较真
You're too serious—you need to lighten up a little.
你太严肃了——你需要放松一点。
天空变亮；天色转明
By six o'clock the sky lightens and the birds start singing.
到六点钟天就亮了，鸟儿开始歌唱。
放松；别太认真
Lighten up! It's just a game.
放轻松！这只是一场比赛。
缓和气氛；使气氛轻松
She told a funny story to lighten the mood.
她讲了个有趣的故事来缓和气氛。
减轻负担
Can you help lighten the load for me?
你能帮我减轻负担吗？
放轻松，弗朗西斯。
In the movie Stripes, the sergeant tells a stressed soldier, "Lighten up, Francis."
在电影《Stripes》中，中士对紧张的士兵说：“放轻松，弗朗西斯。”
Use lighten naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
联想记忆：lighten 由 light（光/轻）加 -en 构成，想象光照进房间、负担变轻，心情也随之明亮轻松。
语域：neutral 常见场景：日常对话、书面表达 该词在口语和书面语中都比较常见，属于中性用词；具体语气多由搭配决定，通常不带有明显的正式或非正式色彩。
These words rhyme with lighten /ˈlaɪtən/: brighten, frighten, tighten, whiten, heighten, and enlighten share the final /ˈaɪtən/ sound. Heighten and whiten are spelled differently but still rhyme. Beware lookalikes like kitten /ˈkɪtən/ and written /ˈrɪtən/, which have a different vowel sound.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.