Lightness Meaning
/ˈlaɪtnəs/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounthe condition of being illuminated
nounthe relative whiteness or transparency of a colour
Sentence Examples
Our planet moves in space with the lightness of a bird in flight.
Hand in hand, heaviness becomes lightness.
There's a lightness in my heart after talking with him.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The helium balloons floated to the ceiling because of their incredible ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She enjoyed the feeling of ____ and freedom as she floated in the warm and calm waters of the ocean today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English lightnes, lightnesse, from Old English līhtnes, lȳhtnys (“enlightening, illumination”), from Proto-West Germanic *liuhtinassī; equivalent to light (“to make bright, illuminate”, verb) + -ness (suffix forming nouns). Cognate with Old High German liuhtnissi (“illumination, enlightening”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Well, darkness has a hunger that's insatiable
and lightness has a call that's hard to hear."
— 1989 February 28, Emily Saliers, “Closer to Fine”, in Indigo Girls, performed by Indigo Girls:
"The unique chassis design is largely the secret of the lightness of the locomotive."
— 1960 January, “The Swindon Type "4" diesel-hydraulic units”, in Trains Illustrated, page 39:
"In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road."
— 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, “The Tutor's Daughter”, in Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion, page 266:
"And if the sudden and unannounced arrival of Miss Melhuish at "The Turrets" contained any element of surprise for him, his habitual imperturbability enabled him to pass it off with disarming lightness."
— 1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The helium balloons floated to the ceiling because of their incredible ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She enjoyed the feeling of ____ and freedom as she floated in the warm and calm waters of the ocean today.