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light‧en
1 [transitive] to reduce the amount of work, worry, debt etc that someone has [≠ increase]
2 [intransitive and transitive] to become brighter or less dark, or to make something brighter etc [≠ darken]:
3 [intransitive and transitive] if you lighten something such as a mood or atmosphere, or if it lightens, it becomes less sad or serious
lighten the atmosphere/mood/conversation Nora didn't respond to my attempts to lighten the conversation.
Nora didn't respond to my attempts to lighten the conversation.4 [intransitive] if someone's face or expression lightens, they begin to look more cheerful : His whole face would lighten when anyone mentioned Nancy.
His whole face would lighten when anyone mentioned Nancy.5 [intransitive and transitive] to reduce the weight of something or become less heavy
6 used to tell someone not to be so serious about something : You need to lighten up a bit.
lighten up
spokenYou need to lighten up a bit.