"lightening" in the noun sense
1. lightening
descent of the uterus into the pelvic cavity that occurs late in pregnancy the fetus is said to have dropped
2. whitening, lightening
changing to a lighter color
"lightening" in the verb sense
1. lighten, lighten up, buoy up
make more cheerful
"the conversation lightened me up a bit"
2. lighten
reduce the weight on make lighter
"she lightened the load on the tired donkey"
3. lighten, lighten up, buoy up
become more cheerful
"after a glass of wine, he lightened up a bit"
4. brighten, lighten up, lighten
make more cheerful through the use of color
"The paint will brighten the room"
5. lighten, lighten up
become lighter
"The room lightened up"
6. relieve, lighten
alleviate or remove (pressure or stress) or make less oppressive
"relieve the pressure and the stress"
"lighten the burden of caring for her elderly parents"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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