light (adj.)

  1. 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'

  2. of little intensity or power or force; the light touch of her fingers; a light breeze'

  3. (physics, chemistry) not having atomic weight greater than average; light water is ordinary water'

  4. (used of color) having a relatively small amount of coloring agent; light blue; light colors such as pastels; a light-colored powder

    [ Syn: light-colored ]

  5. of the military or industry; using (or being) relatively small or light arms or equipment; light infantry; light cavalry; light industry; light weapons'

  6. 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'

  7. psychologically light; especially free from sadness or troubles; a light heart'

  8. characterized by or emitting light; a room that is light when the shutters are open; the inside of the house was airy and light'

    light (n.)

  1. (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation; the light was filtered through a soft glass window

    [ Syn: visible light , visible radiation ]

  2. mental understanding as an enlightening experience; he finally saw the light; can you shed light on this problem?'

  3. merriment expressed by a brightness or gleam or animation of countenance; he had a sparkle in his eye; theres a perpetual twinkle in his eyes

    [ Syn: sparkle , sparkle , twinkle , twinkle , spark , spark ]

  4. public awareness; it brought the scandal to light'

  5. a divine presence believed by Quakers to enlighten and guide the soul

    [ Syn: inner light , light , light within , christ within ]

  6. a visual warning signal; they saw the light of the beacon; there was a light at every corner'

  7. a device for lighting or igniting fuel or charges or fires; do you have a light?

    [ Syn: lighter , igniter , ignitor ]

  8. any device serving as a source of illumination; he stopped the car and turned off the lights

    [ Syn: light source ]

  9. a particular perspective or aspect of a situation; although he saw it in a different light, he still did not understand'

  10. the quality of being luminous; emitting or reflecting light; its luminosity is measured relative to that of our sun

    [ Syn: luminosity , brightness , brightness level , luminance , luminousness ]

  11. an illuminated area; he stepped into the light'

  12. a condition of spiritual awareness; divine illumination; follow Gods light

    [ Syn: illumination ]

  13. the visual effect of illumination on objects or scenes as created in pictures; he could paint the lightest light and the darkest dark

    [ Syn: lightness ]

  14. a person regarded very fondly; the light of my life'

  15. having abundant light or illumination; they played as long as it was light; as long as the lighting was good

    [ Syn: lighting ]

    light (adv.)

  1. with few burdens; experienced travellers travel light

    [ Syn: lightly , lightly , lightly , lightly , lightly , lightly , lightly , lightly ]

    light (adj.)

  1. (of sound or color) free from anything that dulls or dims; efforts to obtain a clean bass in orchestral recordings; clear laughter like a waterfall; clear reds and blues; a light lilting voice like a silver bell

    [ Syn: clean , clear , unclouded ]

  2. moving easily and quickly; nimble; the dancer was light and graceful; a lightsome buoyant step; walked with a light tripping step

    [ Syn: lightsome , tripping ]

  3. demanding little effort; not burdensome; light housework; light exercise'

  4. weak and likely to lose consciousness; suddenly felt faint from the pain; was sick and faint from hunger; felt light in the head; a swooning fit; light-headed with wine; light-headed from lack of sleep

    [ Syn: faint , swooning , light-headed , lightheaded ]

  5. very thin and insubstantial; thin paper; light summer dresses'

  6. marked by temperance in indulgence; abstemious with the use of adverbs; a light eater; a light smoker; ate a light supper

    [ Syn: abstemious ]

  7. less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so; a light pound; a scant cup of sugar; regularly gives short weight

    [ Syn: scant , short ]

  8. having little importance; losing his job was no light matter'

  9. intended primarily as entertainment; not serious or profound; light verse; a light comedy'

  10. silly or trivial; idle pleasure; light banter; light idle chatter

    [ Syn: idle ]

  11. designed for ease of movement or to carry little weight; light aircraft; a light truck'

  12. having relatively few calories; diet cola; light (or lite) beer; lite (or light) mayonnaise; a low-cal diet

    [ Syn: lite , low-cal , calorie-free ]

  13. (of sleep) easily disturbed; in a light doze; a light sleeper; a restless wakeful night

    [ Syn: wakeful ]

  14. casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior; her easy virtue; he was told to avoid loose (or light) women; wanton behavior

    [ Syn: easy , loose , promiscuous , sluttish , wanton ]

  15. (used of vowels or syllables) pronounced with little or no stress; a syllable that ends in a short vowel is a light syllable; a weak stress on the second syllable

    [ Syn: unaccented , weak ]

  16. easily assimilated in the alimentary canal; not rich or heavily seasoned; a light diet'

  17. (used of soil) loose and large-grained in consistency; light soil'

    light (v.)

  1. make lighter or brighter; This lamp lightens the room a bit

    [ Syn: illume , illumine , light up , illuminate ]

  2. begin to smoke; After the meal, some of the diners lit up

    [ Syn: light up , fire up ]

  3. to come to rest, settle; Misfortune lighted upon him

    [ Syn: alight , perch ]

  4. cause to start burning; subject to fire or great heat; Great heat can ignite almost any dry matter; Light a cigarette

    [ Syn: ignite ]

  5. fall to somebody by assignment or lot; The task fell to me; It fell to me to notify the parents of the victims

    [ Syn: fall ]

  6. alight from (a horse)

    [ Syn: unhorse , dismount , get off , get down ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.