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Meaning of light in English
Pronunciation
/laɪt/
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Verb
light
Etymology
Old English līhtan(in light (sense 2); also ‘lessen the weight of’), from light; compare with alight
Definitions
1.
make lighter or brighter
Examples
« This lamp lightens the room a bit »
2.
begin to smoke
Examples
« After the meal, some of the diners lit up »
3.
to come to rest, settle
Examples
« Misfortune lighted upon him »
4.
cause to start burning
Examples
« subject to fire or great heat »
« Great heat can ignite almost any dry matter »
« Light a cigarette »
Antonyms
snuff out
blow out
extinguish
quench
5.
fall to somebody by assignment or lot
Examples
« The task fell to me »
« It fell to me to notify the parents of the victims »
6.
get off (a horse)
Classifying Adjective
light
Definitions
1.
used of vowels or syllables
Examples
« pronounced with little or no stress »
« a syllable that ends in a short vowel is a light syllable »
« a weak stress on the second syllable »
Synonyms
unstressed
unaccented
2.
easily assimilated in the alimentary canal
Examples
« not rich or heavily seasoned »
« a light diet »
Synonyms
digestible
3.
(used of soil) loose and large-grained in consistency
Examples
« light sandy soil »
Synonyms
loose
4.
(of sound or color) free from anything that dulls or dims
Examples
« efforts to obtain a clean bass in orchestral recordings »
« clear laughter like a waterfall »
« clear reds and blues »
« a light lilting voice like a silver bell »
Synonyms
pure
5.
moving easily and quickly
Examples
« nimble »
« the dancer was light and graceful »
« a lightsome buoyant step »
« walked with a light tripping step »
Synonyms
light-footed
6.
demanding little effort
Examples
« not burdensome »
« light housework »
« light exercise »
Synonyms
undemanding
7.
weak and likely to lose consciousness
Examples
« suddenly felt faint from the pain »
« was sick and faint from hunger »
« felt light in the head »
« a swooning fit »
« light-headed with wine »
« light-headed from lack of sleep »
Synonyms
ill
sick
8.
very thin and insubstantial
Examples
« thin paper »
« flimsy voile »
« light summer dresses »
Synonyms
thin
9.
less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so
Examples
« a light pound »
« a scant cup of sugar »
« regularly gives short weight »
Synonyms
insufficient
deficient
10.
having little importance
Examples
« losing his job was no light matter »
Synonyms
insignificant
unimportant
11.
intended primarily as entertainment
Examples
« not serious or profound »
« light verse »
« a light comedy »
Synonyms
frivolous
12.
silly or trivial
Examples
« idle pleasure »
« light banter »
« light idle chatter »
Synonyms
frivolous
13.
having a spongy or flaky texture
Examples
« well-leavened »
« light pastries »
Synonyms
leavened
14.
designed for ease of movement or to carry little weight
Examples
« light aircraft »
« a light truck »
Synonyms
light-duty
15.
having relatively few calories
Examples
« diet cola »
« light (or lite) beer »
« lite (or light) mayonnaise »
« a low-cal diet »
Synonyms
nonfat
fat-free
fatless
16.
(of sleep) easily disturbed
Examples
« in a light doze »
« a light sleeper »
« a restless wakeful night »
Synonyms
shallow
17.
casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior
Examples
« her easy virtue »
« he was told to avoid loose (or light) women »
« wanton behavior »
Synonyms
unchaste
Adverb
light
Definitions
1.
with few burdens
Examples
« experienced travellers travel light »
Noun
light
Etymology
Old English lēoht, līht (noun and adjective), līhtan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch licht and German Licht, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek leukos‘white’ and Latin lux‘light’
Definitions
1.
(physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
Examples
« the light was filtered through a soft glass window »
2.
any device serving as a source of illumination
Examples
« he stopped the car and turned off the lights »
3.
a particular perspective or aspect of a situation
Examples
« although he saw it in a different light, he still did not understand »
4.
the quality of being luminous
Examples
« emitting or reflecting light »
« its luminosity is measured relative to that of our sun »
5.
an illuminated area
Examples
« he stepped into the light »
6.
a condition of spiritual awareness
Examples
« divine illumination »
« follow God's light »
7.
the visual effect of illumination on objects or scenes as created in pictures
Examples
« he could paint the lightest light and the darkest dark »
8.
a person regarded very fondly
Examples
« the light of my life »
9.
mental understanding as an enlightening experience
Examples
« he finally saw the light »
« can you shed light on this problem? »
10.
having abundant light or illumination
Examples
« they played as long as it was light »
« as long as the lighting was good »
Antonyms
dark
darkness
11.
public awareness
Examples
« it brought the scandal to light »
12.
brightness and animation of countenance
Examples
« he had a sparkle in his eye »
13.
a divine presence believed by Quakers to enlighten and guide the soul
14.
a visual warning signal
Examples
« they saw the light of the beacon »
« there was a light at every corner »
15.
a device for lighting or igniting fuel or charges or fires
Examples
« do you have a light? »
Qualitative Adjective
light
Etymology
Old English lēocht, līht (noun), lēohte (adverb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch licht and German leicht, from an Indo-European root shared by lung
Definitions
1.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
Examples
« a light load »
« magnesium is a light metal--having a specific gravity of 1.74 at 20 degrees C »
Synonyms
airy
buoyant
floaty
feathery
featherlike
lightweight
low-density(p)
featherweight
lighter-than-air
Antonyms
heavy
2.
(used of color) having a relatively small amount of coloring agent
Examples
« light blue »
« light colors such as pastels »
« a light-colored powder »
Synonyms
pale
pastel
powdery
palish
Antonyms
dark
3.
of the military or industry
Examples
« using (or being) relatively small or light arms or equipment »
« light infantry »
« light cavalry »
« light industry »
« light weapons »
Synonyms
light-armed
lightly-armed
Antonyms
heavy
4.
not great in degree or quantity or number
Examples
« a light sentence »
« a light accent »
« casualties were light »
« light snow was falling »
« light misty rain »
« light smoke from the chimney »
Synonyms
easy
Antonyms
heavy
5.
psychologically light
Examples
« especially free from sadness or troubles »
« a light heart »
Synonyms
fooling
casual
Antonyms
heavy
6.
characterized by or emitting light
Examples
« a room that is light when the shutters are open »
« the inside of the house was airy and light »
Synonyms
ablaze(p)
inflamed
reddened
bioluminescent
bright
candescent
floodlit
floodlighted
fluorescent
illuminated
lighted
lit
well-lighted
illuminating
incandescent
candent
lamplit
lighting-up(a)
livid
phosphorescent
sunlit
sunstruck
white
luminescent
Antonyms
dark
7.
of little intensity or power or force
Examples
« the light touch of her fingers »
« a light breeze »
Synonyms
easy
gentle
soft
Antonyms
heavy
8.
(physics, chemistry) not having atomic weight greater than average
Examples
« light water is ordinary water »
Antonyms
heavy