lightsome
1 Americanadjective
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light, especially in form, appearance, or movement; airy; buoyant; agile; nimble; graceful.
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cheerful; lighthearted.
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frivolous; changeable.
adjective
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emitting or reflecting light; luminous.
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well-lighted; illuminated; bright.
adjective
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lighthearted
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airy or buoyant
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not serious; frivolous
adjective
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producing or reflecting light
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full of or flooded with light
Other Word Forms
- lightsomely adverb
- lightsomeness noun
Etymology
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
Explanation
If you're lightsome, you're graceful and agile in your movements. A lightsome dancer moves nimbly and effortlessly across the stage. You can be physically lightsome, skipping lightly across the sand on the beach, or lightsome in your very nature, cheerful and carefree. A lighthearted, happy-go-lucky child who's dancing and skipping around is the perfect illustration of the adjective lightsome. It's rarely used these days, mainly considered literary — so you're most likely to read it in an old book.
Vocabulary lists containing lightsome
"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner
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Prometheus Unbound
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All the King's Men
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
During the second act, I worried — though worry is too strong a word — that maybe this production had become too funny, too lightsome.
From New York Times • Jul. 10, 2022
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.
From Salon • Jan. 7, 2022
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.”
From Washington Post • Sep. 2, 2021
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.
From New York Times • Oct. 29, 2015
Path-finder, People-feeder, Plan-provider, Sage-commander: These hear the call Lyo-lyok the lightsome said: Love I had liefer.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
