Meaning & use
lighthearted
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Meanings
adjectivecomparableapproving
Cheerful and free of worries.
Grammar: Describes a person or a mood: a lighthearted mood, she felt lighthearted.
Patterns
- feel lighthearted
She felt lighthearted as she left the exam hall.
The children were lighthearted on the last day of school.
He walked home with a lighthearted step.
adjectivecomparable
Not serious in tone and meant to amuse rather than to weigh heavily.
Grammar: Describes things like books, films and remarks: a lighthearted comedy.
Patterns
- lighthearted about something
The speech had a lighthearted tone that put everyone at ease.
It was a lighthearted film about two friends on a road trip.
He made a lighthearted comment to calm the room.
Word forms
| comparative | more lighthearted |
|---|---|
| superlative | most lighthearted |
Common combinations
- a lighthearted moment
- The meeting had a lighthearted moment when the cat jumped on the desk.
- lighthearted banter
- The two colleagues shared lighthearted banter.
- a lighthearted approach
- The teacher took a lighthearted approach to grammar.
- a lighthearted comedy
- We watched a lighthearted comedy on Friday.
- in a lighthearted way
- He asked in a lighthearted way if she wanted to dance.
Synonyms and how they differ
- carefree
- Carefree stresses having no worries or responsibilities, while lighthearted can describe tone as well as mood.
- cheerful
- Cheerful is a general word for happy, while lighthearted suggests relief from heaviness.
- playful
- Playful suggests teasing, fun behavior, whereas lighthearted can be quiet and gentle.
- jovial
- Jovial is warmer and more sociable, used mostly of people.
Opposites
Word family
- lightheartedly adverb
- in a cheerful, not-serious way
- lightheartedness noun
- the quality of being lighthearted
- light adjective
- here meaning not heavy or serious
Commonly confused: lighthearted or lightheaded?
lighthearted vs lightheaded
Lightheaded means dizzy or faint, while lighthearted means cheerful and not serious.
Practice
After the stressful meeting, she told a ___ joke to relax the team.
Choose one answer.
A lighthearted joke is gentle and not serious. Lightheaded means dizzy, heartless means cruel, and heavyhearted means sad.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lighthearted”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.