Meaning & use
lighthearted person
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
Someone who is cheerful and relaxed by nature and does not let small problems upset them.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a lighthearted person or two lighthearted people.
Patterns
- be a lighthearted person
- a lighthearted person who ...
My uncle is a lighthearted person who laughs at almost everything.
She is a lighthearted person, so the whole team relaxes when she is around.
He stayed a lighthearted person even after years of difficult work.
nouncountable
Someone who treats a serious subject in a playful, not serious way.
Grammar: Often used with about: a lighthearted person about money.
Patterns
- a lighthearted person about something
He is a lighthearted person about money and never worries about bills.
Being a lighthearted person about exams helped her stay calm.
Word forms
| plural | lighthearted people |
|---|
Common combinations
- a lighthearted person by nature
- She is a lighthearted person by nature and rarely complains.
- a genuinely lighthearted person
- He is a genuinely lighthearted person, not just polite.
- come across as a lighthearted person
- On the phone she comes across as a lighthearted person.
- a lighthearted person at heart
- Though he looks serious, he is a lighthearted person at heart.
- a lighthearted person to be around
- Tom is a lighthearted person to be around when work gets stressful.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cheerful person
- Cheerful person stresses a happy, upbeat mood and can describe a temporary state, while lighthearted person suggests a settled, easygoing nature.
- easygoing person
- Easygoing person focuses on not getting annoyed or demanding; lighthearted person focuses more on playfulness and good humor.
- carefree person
- Carefree person suggests having few worries or responsibilities, which can sound slightly critical; lighthearted person is usually positive.
Opposites
Word family
- lightheartedly adverb
- in a cheerful, relaxed way
- lightheartedness noun
- the quality of being cheerful and relaxed
- lighthearted adjective
- cheerful and not serious
Commonly confused: lighthearted person or light-headed? lighthearted person or happy-go-lucky?
lighthearted person vs light-headed
Light-headed means dizzy or faint, a physical feeling, not a cheerful personality.
lighthearted person vs happy-go-lucky
Happy-go-lucky means trusting to luck and not planning ahead; a lighthearted person may still plan carefully.
Practice
Which sentence uses "lighthearted person" most naturally?
Choose one answer.
"Lighthearted person" describes someone's cheerful nature, so "She is a lighthearted person who makes everyone laugh" fits. Option 0 fails because a person cannot "feel a lighthearted person"; option 2 confuses it with light-headed, which means dizzy; option 3 wrongly describes an object.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lighthearted person”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.