different between lighten vs slacken
lighten
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?la?.t?n/
- Rhymes: -a?t?n
Etymology 1
From Middle English lightnen, equivalent to light +? -en.
Verb
lighten (third-person singular simple present lightens, present participle lightening, simple past and past participle lightened)
- (transitive) To make brighter or clearer; to illuminate.
- 1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis, London: Henry Herringman, stanza 231, p. 59,[1]
- A Key of fire ran all along the shore,
- And lighten’d all the river with the blaze:
- 1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis, London: Henry Herringman, stanza 231, p. 59,[1]
- (intransitive) To become brighter or clearer; to brighten.
- (intransitive, archaic) To burst forth or dart, as lightning; to shine with, or like, lightning; to flash.
- 1595, George Peele, The Old Wives’ Tale, The Malone Society Reprints, 1908, line 500,[2]
- Enter the Conjurer; it lightens and thunders […]
- c. 1599, William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene 3,[3]
- […] this dreadful night,
- That thunders, lightens, opens graves, and roars
- As doth the lion.
- 1595, George Peele, The Old Wives’ Tale, The Malone Society Reprints, 1908, line 500,[2]
- (transitive) To emit or disclose in, or as if in, lightning; to flash out, like lightning.
- c. 1595, William Shakespeare, Richard II, Act III, Scene 3,[4]
- […] behold his eye,
- As bright as is the eagle’s, lightens forth
- Controlling majesty:
- c. 1595, William Shakespeare, Richard II, Act III, Scene 3,[4]
- To illuminate with knowledge; to enlighten.
- 1599, John Davies, “Of the Soule of man, and the immortalitie thereof” in Nosce Teipsum. This Oracle Expounded in Two Elegies, London: John Standish, p. 10,[5]
- O Light which mak’st the Light, which makes the Day,
- Which setst the Eye without and Mind within,
- Lighten my spirit with one cleare heavenly ray,
- Which now to view it selfe doth first begin.
- 1599, John Davies, “Of the Soule of man, and the immortalitie thereof” in Nosce Teipsum. This Oracle Expounded in Two Elegies, London: John Standish, p. 10,[5]
Conjugation
Derived terms
- lighten up
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English lightnen, equivalent to light +? -en.
Verb
lighten (third-person singular simple present lightens, present participle lightening, simple past and past participle lightened)
- (transitive) To alleviate; to reduce the burden of.
- (transitive) To make light or lighter in weight.
- (transitive) To make less serious or more cheerful.
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Psalms 34:5,[6]
- They looked unto him, were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Psalms 34:5,[6]
- (intransitive) To become light or lighter in weight.
- (intransitive) To become less serious or more cheerful.
Conjugation
Derived terms
- lighten up
Translations
Etymology 3
From light +? -en.
Verb
lighten (third-person singular simple present lightens, present participle lightening, simple past and past participle lightened)
- To descend; to light.
- Book of Common Prayer
- O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us.
- Book of Common Prayer
Related terms
- alight
Anagrams
- enlight, lething
lighten From the web:
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slacken
English
Etymology
From Middle English slakenen, equivalent to slack +? -en.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?slæ.k?n/
- Rhymes: -æk?n
Verb
slacken (third-person singular simple present slackens, present participle slackening, simple past and past participle slackened)
- (intransitive) To gradually decrease in intensity or tautness; to become slack.
- The pace slackened.
- 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows:
- He seemed tired, and the Rat let him rest unquestioned, understanding something of what was in his thoughts; knowing, too, the value all animals attach at times to mere silent companionship, when the weary muscles slacken and the mind marks time.
- (transitive) To make slack, less taut, or less intense.
- 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter I:
- During this interlude, Warwick, though he had slackened his pace measurably, had so nearly closed the gap between himself and them as to hear the old woman say, with the dulcet negro intonation: […]
- 1986, Mari Sandoz, The Horsecatcher:
- Elk slackened the rope so he could walk farther away, and together they went awkwardly up the trail toward the grassy little flat...
- 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter I:
- To deprive of cohesion by combining chemically with water; to slake.
- to slacken lime
Related terms
- slack
- slacker
Translations
Anagrams
- cankles, snackle
slacken From the web:
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