Meaning & use
lighten the burden
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Meanings
phraseidiom
To make a difficult duty, problem, or worry easier for someone to bear.
Grammar: Takes an object: lighten the burden on someone. Often used with 'on' before the person affected.
Patterns
- lighten the burden on someone
- lighten someone's burden
- lighten the burden of something
The new software was designed to lighten the burden on office workers.
Sharing the chores can lighten the burden on both parents.
The charity's goal is to lighten the burden of families caring for sick relatives.
phraseidiom
To reduce the amount of work, cost, or responsibility that someone has to deal with.
Grammar: Often used in formal or news contexts about policies, taxes, or workloads.
Patterns
- lighten the burden of something
- lighten the financial burden
- lighten the burden for someone
The tax cut is meant to lighten the burden for small businesses.
Online applications lighten the burden of paperwork for students.
The government promised to lighten the burden of student debt.
Common combinations
- lighten the burden on someone
- The new policy will lighten the burden on low-income families.
- lighten someone's burden
- A few kind words can lighten someone's burden.
- lighten the financial burden
- Scholarships lighten the financial burden of college.
- lighten the burden of care
- Respite services lighten the burden of care for families.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ease
- Means to make something less severe or painful; it can be used for physical pain, while 'lighten the burden' is usually about duties or worries.
- relieve
- Often suggests removing a specific problem or pain; 'lighten the burden' suggests making a heavy load easier to carry, not removing it completely.
- alleviate
- A more formal word for making suffering or a problem less severe; it is common in medical or official writing.
Opposites
Word family
- burden noun
- A heavy load or difficult responsibility.
- burdensome adjective
- Causing worry, effort, or difficulty.
- lighten verb
- To make something lighter or less serious.
Commonly confused: lighten the burden or lighten up?
lighten the burden vs lighten up
This is an informal phrasal verb meaning to become less serious or relax; it does not mean to reduce someone's work or worry.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'lighten the burden' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Lighten the burden on someone' is the correct pattern. Option 1 uses the wrong preposition 'to'; option 2 is ungrammatical; option 3 mixes two clauses incorrectly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lighten the burden”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.