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light

It's pitch black in your room so you switch on the lamp, and your room is filled with light. Light is a source of illumination, whether a natural one (like the sun) or an artificial one (like your lamp).

Like light itself, the word can take a lot of different forms — it can be a noun, an adjective, or a verb, and it can mean "bright" or "not heavy". No matter how you define it, though, the word comes from the Old English word leoht.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: light

1	n adj v	(physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation characterized by or emitting light make lighter or brighter
2	adj adv	of comparatively little physical weight or density with few burdens
3	v n	cause to start burning; subject to fire or great heat a device for lighting or igniting fuel or charges or fires
4	v	to come to rest, settle
5	adj	(used of soil) loose and large-grained in consistency

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: light

n (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation

“the light was filtered through a soft glass window”

Synonyms:: visible light, visible radiation

Types:: show 37 types...; hide 37 types...; beam, beam of light, irradiation, light beam, ray, ray of light, shaft, shaft of light
a column of light (as from a beacon); candle flame, candlelight
the light provided by a burning candle; corona
one or more circles of light seen around a luminous object; counterglow, gegenschein
a faint spot of light in the night sky that appears directly opposite the position of the sun; a reflection of sunlight by micrometeoric material in space; daylight
light during the daytime; firelight
the light of a fire (especially in a fireplace); fluorescence
light emitted during absorption of radiation of some other (invisible) wavelength; friar's lantern, ignis fatuus, jack-o'-lantern, will-o'-the-wisp
a pale light sometimes seen at night over marshy ground; gaslight
light yielded by the combustion of illuminating gas; glow, glowing, radiance
the amount of electromagnetic radiation leaving or arriving at a point on a surface; glow
a steady even light without flames; half-light
a greyish light (as at dawn or dusk or in dim interiors); glow, incandescence
the phenomenon of light emission by a body as its temperature is raised; lamplight
light from a lamp; luminescence
light not due to incandescence; occurs at low temperatures; meteor, shooting star
a streak of light in the sky at night that results when a meteoroid hits the earth's atmosphere and air friction causes the meteoroid to melt or vaporize or explode; Moon, moonlight, moonshine
the light of the Moon; starlight
the light of the stars; sun, sunlight, sunshine
the rays of the sun; scintillation
(physics) a flash of light that is produced in a phosphor when it absorbs a photon or ionizing particle; streamer
light that streams; torchlight
light from a torch or torches; twilight
the diffused light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon but its rays are refracted by the atmosphere of the earth; aureole, corona
the outermost region of the sun's atmosphere; visible as a white halo during a solar eclipse; autofluorescence
self-induced fluorescence; sky glow
illumination of the night sky in urban areas; heat ray
a ray that produces a thermal effect; high beam
the beam of a car's headlights that provides distant illumination; bioluminescence
luminescence produced by physiological processes (as in the firefly); chemiluminescence
luminescence resulting from a chemical reaction as the oxidation of luciferin in fireflies; bolide, fireball
an especially luminous meteor (sometimes exploding); moon ray, moon-ray, moonbeam
a ray of moonlight; sunburst
a sudden emergence of the sun from behind clouds; sunbeam, sunray
a ray of sunlight; laser beam
a beam of light generated by a laser; low beam
the beam of a car's headlights that provides illumination for a short distance; phosphorescence
a fluorescence that persists after the bombarding radiation has ceased

Type of:: actinic radiation, actinic ray
electromagnetic radiation that can produce photochemical reactions

n the quality of being luminous; emitting or reflecting light

Synonyms:: brightness, brightness level, luminance, luminosity, luminousness

Types:: illuminance, illumination
the luminous flux incident on a unit area; incandescence
light from heat; glow, luminescence
light from nonthermal sources

Type of:: physical property
any property used to characterize matter and energy and their interactions

n an illuminated area

“he stepped into the light”

Type of:: scene
the place where some action occurs

n the visual effect of illumination on objects or scenes as created in pictures

“he could paint the lightest light and the darkest dark”

Synonyms:: lightness

Types:: show 13 types...; hide 13 types...; aura, aureole, gloriole, glory, halo, nimbus
an indication of radiant light drawn around the head of a saint; sunniness
lightness created by sunlight; highlight, highlighting
an area of lightness in a picture; brightness
the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white; cloudlessness
the lightness of a sunny day when there are no clouds in the sky; blaze, brilliance, glare
a light within the field of vision that is brighter than the brightness to which the eyes are adapted; dazzle
brightness enough to blind partially and temporarily; glisten, glister, glitter, scintillation, sparkle
the quality of shining with a bright reflected light; flash
a momentary brightness; glint
a spatially localized brightness; iridescence, opalescence
the visual property of something having a milky brightness and a play of colors from the surface; effulgence, radiance, radiancy, refulgence, refulgency, shine
the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light; brilliancy, luster, lustre, splendor, splendour
a quality that outshines the usual

Type of:: visual property
an attribute of vision

n having abundant light or illumination

“they played as long as it was light”

Synonyms:: lighting

Antonyms:: dark, darkness
absence of light or illumination

Type of:: illumination
the degree of visibility of your environment

n any device serving as a source of illumination

“he stopped the car and turned off the lights”

Synonyms:: light source

Types:: show 20 types...; hide 20 types...; anchor light, riding lamp, riding light
a light in the rigging of a ship that is riding at anchor; blinker, flasher
a light that flashes on and off; used as a signal or to send messages; fairy light
a small colored light used for decoration (especially at Christmas); flood, flood lamp, floodlight, photoflood
light that is a source of artificial illumination having a broad beam; used in photography; headlamp, headlight
a powerful light with reflector; attached to the front of an automobile or locomotive; houselights
lights that illuminate the audience's part of a theater or other auditorium; jacklight
a light used as a lure in hunting or fishing at night; navigation light
light on an airplane that indicates the plane's position and orientation; red light on the left (port) wing tip and green light on the right (starboard) wing tip; night-light
light (as a candle or small bulb) that burns in a bedroom at night (as for children or invalids); panel light
a light to illuminate an instrument panel; room light
light that provides general illumination for a room; sconce
a candle or flaming torch secured in a sconce; searchlight
a light source with reflectors that projects a beam of light in a particular direction; running light, sidelight
light carried by a boat that indicates the boat's direction; vessels at night carry a red light on the port bow and a green light on the starboard bow; strip lighting
light consisting of long tubes (instead of bulbs) that provide the illumination; theater light
any of various lights used in a theater; torch
a light usually carried in the hand; consists of some flammable substance; flambeau
a flaming torch (such as are used in processions at night); foglamp
headlight that provides strong beam for use in foggy weather; footlights
theater light at the front of a stage that illuminate the set and actors

Type of:: source of illumination
any device serving as a source of visible electromagnetic radiation

n a visual warning signal

“they saw the light of the beacon”

“there was a light at every corner”

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; stoplight, traffic light, traffic signal
a visual signal to control the flow of traffic at intersections; go-ahead, green light
a signal to proceed; red light
the signal to stop; yellow light
the signal to proceed with caution

Type of:: visual signal
a signal that involves visual communication

n a particular perspective or aspect of a situation

“although he saw it in a different light, he still did not understand”

Type of:: perspective, position, view
a way of regarding situations or topics etc.

n public awareness

“it brought the scandal to light”

Type of:: general knowledge, public knowledge
knowledge that is available to anyone

n mental understanding as an enlightening experience

“he finally saw the light”

“can you shed light on this problem?”

Type of:: brainstorm, brainwave, insight
the clear (and often sudden) understanding of a complex situation

n a condition of spiritual awareness; divine illumination

“follow God's light”

Synonyms:: illumination

Type of:: condition, status
a state at a particular time

n a person regarded very fondly

“the light of my life”

Type of:: friend
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust

n merriment expressed by a brightness or gleam or animation of countenance

Synonyms:: spark, sparkle, twinkle

Type of:: verve, vitality
an energetic style; aspect, expression, face, facial expression, look
the feelings expressed on a person's face

adj characterized by or emitting light

“a room that is light when the shutters are open”

“the inside of the house was airy and light”

Synonyms: ablaze, inflamed, reddened
lighted with red light as if with flames; autofluorescent
emitting light via self-induced fluorescence; bioluminescent
(of living organisms) emitting light; bright
having lots of light either natural or artificial; candescent
glowing from great heat; floodlighted, floodlit
illuminated by means of floodlights; fluorescent
emitting light during exposure to radiation from an external source; illuminated, lighted, lit, well-lighted
provided with artificial light; candent, incandescent
emitting light as a result of being heated; lamplit
lighted by a lamp; lighting-up
turning lights on; livid
(of a light) imparting a deathlike luminosity; luminescent
emitting light not caused by heat; phosphorescent
emitting light without appreciable heat as by slow oxidation of phosphorous; sunlit, sunstruck
lighted by sunlight; white
of summer nights in northern latitudes where the sun barely sets

Antonyms:: dark
devoid of or deficient in light or brightness; shadowed or black; Acheronian, Acherontic, Stygian
dark and dismal as of the rivers Acheron and Styx in Hades; aphotic
lacking light; especially not reached by sunlight; black, pitch-black, pitch-dark
extremely dark; caliginous
dark and misty and gloomy; Cimmerian
intensely dark and gloomy as with perpetual darkness; crepuscular
like twilight; dim; darkened
become or made dark by lack of light; darkening
becoming dark or darker as from waning light or clouding over; darkling
(poetic) occurring in the dark or night; darkling
uncannily or threateningly dark or obscure; dim, subdued
lacking in light; not bright or harsh; dusky, twilight, twilit
lighted by or as if by twilight; gloomful, glooming, gloomy, sulky
depressingly dark; lightless, unilluminated, unlighted, unlit
without illumination; semidark
partially devoid of light or brightness; tenebrific, tenebrious, tenebrous
dark and gloomy; show more antonyms...

adj (used of color) having a relatively small amount of coloring agent

“light blue”

“light colors such as pastels”

“a light-colored powder”

Synonyms:: light-colored

: white
being of the achromatic color of maximum lightness; having little or no hue owing to reflection of almost all incident light; pale
very light colored; highly diluted with white; palish
slightly pale; pastel
delicate and pale in color; powdery
as if dulled in color with a sprinkling of powder

Antonyms:: dark
(used of color) having a dark hue; black
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light; darkish
slightly dark; show more antonyms...

adj (of sound or color) free from anything that dulls or dims

“a light lilting voice like a silver bell”

Synonyms:: clean, clear, unclouded

: pure
free of extraneous elements of any kind

v make lighter or brighter

Synonyms:: illume, illuminate, illumine, light up

Types:: floodlight
illuminate with floodlights; spotlight
illuminate with a spotlight, as in the theater

Type of:: lighten, lighten up
become lighter

adj of comparatively little physical weight or density

“a light load”

“magnesium is a light metal--having a specific gravity of 1.74 at 20 degrees C”

Synonyms: lightweight
weighing relatively little compared with another item or object of similar use; airy
having little or no perceptible weight; so light as to resemble air; buoyant, floaty
tending to float on a liquid or rise in air or gas; lighter-than-air
relating to a balloon or other aircraft that flies because it weighs less than the air it displaces; low-density
having low relative density or specific gravity

Antonyms:: heavy
of comparatively great physical weight or density; dense
having high relative density or specific gravity; doughy, soggy
having the consistency of dough because of insufficient leavening or improper cooking; heavier-than-air
relating to an aircraft heavier than the air it displaces; hefty
of considerable weight and size; massive
consisting of great mass; containing a great quantity of matter; non-buoyant
tending to sink in a liquid or fall in air; ponderous
having great mass and weight and unwieldiness; show more antonyms...

adj not great in degree or quantity or number

“a light sentence”

“a light accent”

“casualties were light”

“light snow was falling”

“light misty rain”

“light smoke from the chimney”

Antonyms:: heavy
unusually great in degree or quantity or number; harsh
severe; show more antonyms...

adj very thin and insubstantial

“light summer dresses”

Synonyms: thin
of relatively small extent from one surface to the opposite or in cross section

adj demanding little effort; not burdensome

“light housework”

“light exercise”

Synonyms: undemanding
requiring little if any patience or effort or skill

adj of little intensity or power or force

“the light touch of her fingers”

“a light breeze”

Synonyms: easy, gentle, soft
having little impact

Antonyms:: heavy
of great intensity or power or force; big
marked by intense physical force; show more antonyms...

adj (physics, chemistry) not having atomic weight greater than average

“light water is ordinary water”

Antonyms:: heavy
(physics, chemistry) being or containing an isotope with greater than average atomic mass or weight

adj less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so

“a light pound”

Synonyms:: scant, short

: deficient, insufficient
of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement

adj moving easily and quickly; nimble

“the dancer was light and graceful”

“walked with a light tripping step”

Synonyms:: lightsome, tripping

: light-footed
(of movement) having a light and springy step

adj designed for ease of movement or to carry little weight

“light aircraft”

“a light truck”

Synonyms: light-duty
not designed for heavy work

adj of the military or industry; using (or being) relatively small or light arms or equipment

“light infantry”

“light cavalry”

“light industry”

“light weapons”

Synonyms: light-armed, lightly-armed
armed with light weapons

Antonyms:: heavy
of the military or industry; using (or being) the heaviest and most powerful armaments or weapons or equipment

adj psychologically light; especially free from sadness or troubles

“a light heart”

Synonyms: casual, fooling
characterized by a feeling of irresponsibility

Antonyms:: heavy
marked by great psychological weight; weighted down especially with sadness or troubles or weariness; burdensome, onerous, taxing
not easily borne; wearing; distressful, distressing, disturbing, perturbing, troubling, worrisome, worrying
causing distress or worry or anxiety; leaden, weighted
made heavy or weighted down with weariness; oppressive
weighing heavily on the senses or spirit; weighty
weighing heavily on the spirit; causing anxiety or worry; show more antonyms...

adj intended primarily as entertainment; not serious or profound

“light verse”

“a light comedy”

Synonyms: frivolous
not serious in content or attitude or behavior

adj having little importance

“losing his job was no light matter”

Synonyms: insignificant, unimportant
devoid of importance, meaning, or force

adj silly or trivial

“light banter”

Synonyms:: idle

: frivolous
not serious in content or attitude or behavior

adj casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior

“he was told to avoid loose (or light) women”

Synonyms:: easy, loose, promiscuous, sluttish, wanton

: unchaste
not chaste

adj easily assimilated in the alimentary canal; not rich or heavily seasoned

“a light diet”

Synonyms: digestible
capable of being converted into assimilable condition in the alimentary canal

adj having relatively few calories

“light (or lite) beer”

“lite (or light) mayonnaise”

Synonyms:: calorie-free, lite, low-cal

: fat-free, fatless, nonfat
without fat or fat solids

adj marked by temperance in indulgence

“a light eater”

“a light smoker”

“ate a light supper”

Synonyms:: abstemious

: temperate
not extreme in behavior

adj (of sleep) easily disturbed

“in a light doze”

“a light sleeper”

Synonyms:: wakeful

: shallow
not deep or strong; not affecting one deeply

adj weak and likely to lose consciousness

“felt light in the head”

“light-headed with wine”

“light-headed from lack of sleep”

Synonyms:: faint, light-headed, lightheaded, swooning

: ill, sick
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function

adj (used of vowels or syllables) pronounced with little or no stress

“a syllable that ends in a short vowel is a light syllable”

Synonyms:: unaccented, weak

: unstressed
not bearing a stress or accent

adv with few burdens

“experienced travellers travel light”

Synonyms:: lightly

v cause to start burning; subject to fire or great heat

Synonyms:: ignite

Antonyms:: blow out, extinguish, quench, snuff out
put out, as of fires, flames, or lights

Types:: show 7 types...; hide 7 types...; fire up, light up
begin to smoke; reignite
ignite anew, as of something burning; conflagrate, enkindle, inflame, kindle
cause to start burning; light up
ignite; flare up
ignite quickly and suddenly, especially after having died down; rekindle
kindle anew, as of a fire; inflame, kindle
catch fire

Type of:: burn, combust
cause to burn or combust

v begin to smoke

“After the meal, some of the diners lit up”

Synonyms:: fire up, light up

Type of:: ignite
cause to start burning; subject to fire or great heat

n a device for lighting or igniting fuel or charges or fires

“do you have a light?”

Synonyms:: igniter, ignitor, lighter

Types:: show 11 types...; hide 11 types...; cigar lighter, cigarette lighter, pocket lighter
a lighter for cigars or cigarettes; fuse, fusee, fuze, fuzee, primer, priming
any igniter that is used to initiate the burning of a propellant; friction match, lucifer, match
lighter consisting of a thin piece of wood or cardboard tipped with combustible chemical; ignites with friction; match
a burning piece of wood or cardboard; detonating fuse
a fuse containing an explosive; fusee, fuzee
a friction match with a large head that will stay alight in the wind; kitchen match
a wooden friction match that will light on any granular surface; useful to light wood or gas stoves; safety fuse
a slow-burning fuse consisting of a tube or cord filled or saturated with combustible matter; used to ignite detonators from a distance; book matches, safety match
a paper match that strikes only on a specially prepared surface; slow match
match or fuse made to burn slowly and evenly; time-fuse
a fuse made to burn for a given time (especially to explode a bomb)

Type of:: device
an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose

v to come to rest, settle

“Misfortune lighted upon him”

Synonyms:: alight, perch

Type of:: land, set down
reach or come to rest

v fall to somebody by assignment or lot

Synonyms:: fall

: accrue, fall
come into the possession of; fall
to be given by assignment or distribution

Type of:: devolve, fall, pass, return
be inherited by

v alight from (a horse)

Synonyms:: dismount, get down, get off, unhorse

Type of:: come down, descend, fall, go down
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way

adj (used of soil) loose and large-grained in consistency

“light soil”

Synonyms: loose
not compact or dense in structure or arrangement

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