lighten

IPA: ɫˈaɪtʌn

(transitive) To make brighter or clearer; to illuminate.
(intransitive) To become brighter or clearer; to brighten.
(intransitive, now rare) To flash lightning, to give off lightning.
(transitive) To emit or disclose in, or as if in, lightning; to flash out, like lightning.
To illuminate with knowledge; to enlighten.
(transitive) To alleviate; to reduce the burden of.
(transitive) To make light or lighter in weight.
(transitive) To make less serious or more cheerful.
(intransitive) To become light or lighter in weight.
(intransitive) To become less serious or more cheerful.
To descend; to light.

Examples of "lighten" in Sentences

The response entitled lighten folks may well be right.
Still ads should also use lighting and backgrounds that minimize color contrast, or even superficially "lighten" Obama.
Faithful, I have a friend, by name Ali the Persian, who hath store of tales and plea sent stories, such as lighten the heart and make care depart.
The artists said Lane promptly requested that they literally go back to the drawing board and whiten (or more politely "lighten") the face of the African-American student.
The signal apparently was received in Prescott, Arizona where a school principal ordered artists to "lighten" the faces of white, black and Hispanic children on school mural after a radio campaign against the mural and weeks of passers-by screaming racial slurs.
Just as depictions of emaciated models can encourage eating disorders and other dangerous practices in young women, so too can the impetus to "lighten" one's implicitly offensive and unwelcomed skin tone impact the mental and physical wellbeing of people of color.
Continuous racist epithets and comments from car drivers, Prescott community members, and Prescott Councilman Steve Blair led to a resolution from the mural committee, which includes Lane and two Miller Valley educators, to "lighten" the faces of the children of color depicted in the mural.