lightsome

¹

[lahyt-suhm]

adjective

1. light, especially in form, appearance, or movement; airy; buoyant; agile; nimble; graceful.

2. cheerful; lighthearted.

3. frivolous; changeable.

lightsome

²

[lahyt-suhm]

adjective

1. emitting or reflecting light; luminous.

2. well-lighted; illuminated; bright.

lightsome

¹

/ ˈlaɪtsəm /

adjective

1. lighthearted

2. airy or buoyant

3. not serious; frivolous

lightsome

²

/ ˈlaɪtsəm /

adjective

1. producing or reflecting light

2. full of or flooded with light

Other Word Forms

• lightsomely adverb
• lightsomeness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lightsome¹

1350–1400; Middle English lyghtesum (cognate with Middle High German līhtsam ). See light ², -some ¹

Origin of lightsome²

First recorded in 1400–50, lightsome is from the late Middle English word lyghtesum. See light ¹, -some ¹

Example Sentences

During the second act, I worried — though worry is too strong a word — that maybe this production had become too funny, too lightsome.

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This, along with Joe's lightsome delivery and comportment, makes enough of an impression to cement his presence in scenes even when Emmett is only present in spirit and memory.

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As Allen put it, Douglass “touches chords . . . which vibrate music now sweet, now sad, now lightsome, now solemn, now startling, now grand, now majestic, now sublime.”

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Re-imagining Benny Goodman,” Mr. Etkin, a Israeli clarinetist with a lightsome disposition, pays a contemporary homage to the artist known in his day as the King of Swing.

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Of course, it helps that the play is 50 minutes, but the cast is so agreeable and the script is so lightsome that those minutes fly by.

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Related Words

• buoyant 
• jolly 
• jovial 
• joyous 
• laid-back 
• lively 
• playful 
• upbeat