verb · neutral
brighten
/ˈbraɪtən/BRIGHT·en
Band 5-6speakingtask1
to make something lighter in colour or to make someone or something more cheerful
Examples
“The children’s laughter brightened the whole room.”
“She brightened the photograph with a brush of white paint.”
“A new coat of paint brightened the old house.”
Band 8 sentence
“The teacher's positive remarks brightened the students' outlook for the rest of the term.”
Collocations
- brighten the room
- brighten someone's day
- brighten with colour
Word family
bright adjectivebrighten verbbrightened adjective / past participlebrightness noun
Common mistakes
I brighten up yesterday→I brightened yesterday
to make bright→to brighten
brighten the seat belt→fasten the seat belt
Say it for a higher band
5make bright→6cheer up→7+brighten
Synonyms
lighten
cheer up
Easily confused
cheer up
“A phone call from an old friend really cheered me up.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In -en
Learn it with its set