Lightness

//ˈlaɪtnəs// noun

noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    the condition of being illuminated uncountable

    "Well, darkness has a hunger that's insatiable and lightness has a call that's hard to hear."

  2. 2
    The state of having little (or less) weight, or little force. uncountable

    "The unique chassis design is largely the secret of the lightness of the locomotive."

  3. 3
    the trait of being lighthearted and frivolous wordnet
  4. 4
    the relative whiteness or transparency of a colour uncountable
  5. 5
    Agility of movement. uncountable
Show 8 more definitions
  1. 6
    the visual effect of illumination on objects or scenes as created in pictures wordnet
  2. 7
    The product of being illuminated. countable
  3. 8
    Freedom from worry. uncountable

    "In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road."

  4. 9
    having a light color wordnet
  5. 10
    Levity, frivolity; inconsistency. uncountable

    "Seneca […] accounts it a filthy lightness in men, every day to lay new foundations of their life, but who doth otherwise?"

  6. 11
    the gracefulness of a person or animal that is quick and nimble wordnet
  7. 12
    the property of being comparatively small in weight wordnet
  8. 13
    a feeling of joy and pride wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
agilitylightsomenessachromaachromasiaachromatosisagility

Example

More examples

"Our planet moves in space with the lightness of a bird in flight."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English lightnes, lightnesse, from Old English *lēohtnes (“lightness”) (compare Old English lēohtmōdnes (“lightness”, literally “light-moodedness”), līhtingnes (“lightness, alleviation”)); equivalent to light (“not heavy”, adjective) + -ness (suffix forming nouns). Cognate with Middle Low German luchtnisse, lüchtnisse (“lightness, frivolity, joyfulness”).

More for "lightness"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.