lighten up

Idioms  

1. Become or cause to become less serious or gloomy, and more cheerful. For example, Lighten up, Sam—it'll turn out all right. This slangy expression transfers reducing a physical weight to a change of mood or attitude.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lighten up

That isn’t to say that trading activity doesn’t lighten up during the summer months.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 29, 2026

If individual investors and large institutions collectively decide to lighten up on their dollars, it will leave a mark.

From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026

Or did the embrace of “Rocky” and “Jaws” mean that audiences wanted their movies to lighten up?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

No, this is more the fatigue of frustration — I want to like this show so much but it refuses to lighten up enough to let me in.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2024

“You sure make it sound easy,” he finally said, trying his best to lighten up the situation.

From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner

Related Words

• acquiesce
• capitulate
• cave in
• come around
• comply
• ease off
• give in
• give up
• let go
• quit
• relax
• slacken
• soften
• subside