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/brˈaɪtən/ Listen

verb

Brighten v. t. (past & past part. brightened; pres. part. brightening) (From Bright, a.)

To make bright or brighter; to make to shine; to increase the luster of; to give a brighter hue to.

To make illustrious, or more distinguished; to add luster or splendor to. "The present queen would brighten her character, if she would exert her authority to instill virtues into her people."

To improve or relieve by dispelling gloom or removing that which obscures and darkens; to shed light upon; to make cheerful; as, to brighten one's prospects. "An ecstasy, which mothers only feel, Plays round my heart and brightens all my sorrow."

To make acute or witty; to enliven.

Brighten v. i. To grow bright, or more bright; to become less dark or gloomy; to clear up; to become bright or cheerful. "And night shall brighten into day." "And, all his prospects brightening to the last, His heaven commences ere world be past."

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Etymology of 'Brighten'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Brighten" Quotes from Famous Books

... I hope Mrs. Skene and you, and some of the children, will come out to brighten the chain of ...

— The Journal of Sir Walter Scott - From the Original Manuscript at Abbotsford • Walter Scott

... disappointment to every one that she was not a boy. But Raeburn had long ago ceased to regret this, and the nickname referred more to Erica's capability of being both son and daughter to him, able to help him in his work and at the same time to brighten his home. Erica was very proud of her name, for she had been called after her father's greatest friend, Eric Haeberlein, a celebrated republican, who once during a long exile had taken refuge in London. His views were in some respects more extreme than Raeburn's, but in private ...

— We Two • Edna Lyall

... intended to denote. Numerous presents continued to find their way to the redoubts. Cigars and tobacco, fruits from the De Beers horticultural department, and an odd pint of wine from the casks of the Colussus were periodically received to brighten the lives of the citizen soldiers. An odd bottle, or rather an odd dozen, of "Cape Smoke" found entry at times. Impure though the commodity was—there is no smoke without fire—a little of it on a raw morning was not amiss. Some erred, unfortunately, in not ...

— The Siege of Kimberley • T. Phelan

... said John. 'This is the bright side of the life we lead in such a place. It would be a dismal life, indeed, if it didn't brighten up to-day' ...

— Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit • Charles Dickens

... one fully appreciates the old adage that "Blessings brighten as they take their flight." Even the tiresome become interesting when we feel we may never see them again, while the hobbies, or crankiness of the singular become entirely bearable, when they are about to be ...

— All Aboard - A Story for Girls • Fannie E. Newberry

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