to brighten the room
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
iluminar la habitación
- Her cheerful smile helped to brighten the room at the party.
Examples
-
To brighten the room, she decided to add some colorful decorations and fresh flowers.
-
I used to bring him things to brighten the room: grocery store bouquets, balloons, greeting cards with kittens and fuzzy rabbits on them.
Fiction book (2002) -
I thought these might brighten the room.
-
Well, the posters would brighten the room some.
Fiction book (1995) -
Books and luxury items brighten the room and the shelves.
Academic text (2015) -
An eerily festive light brightens the room.
Fiction book (1996) -
"And womankind," whispered Abbey Grace as Papa kissed her goodnight and turned out the light, leaving only the moon to brighten the room.
Fiction book (1994) -
The new curtains will definitely brighten the room and make it feel more welcoming.
Synonyms
104
3.4
To make people or a situation feel more cheerful
66
3.9
To make or become more active and interesting
32
4.1
Create a mood at the start of an event
27
2.7
To make a place or thing look more cheerful by adding color
26
5.5
To give more energy and make someone or something feel lively
23
3.2
To make someone feel happier and more hopeful
17
2.7
Make a room or person more cheerful
12
2.3
To make someone feel happy
11
3.7
To make a place feel a certain way with lights, music, or decorations
6
4.1
Make something more active and interesting
5
4.1
To make a place or event feel lively and energetic
4
3.6
To make something more exciting or interesting
3
4.1
Make someone or something more lively and interesting
3
3.8
Make a room feel happy and friendly when someone arrives
3
3.4
Make a room feel happier and more lively
1
2.9
Make a room feel more lively and cheerful
1
6.5
Make a social event lively and fun
1
5.3
To make a party or event lively and enjoyable for people
1
8.2
To make something more lively or bright
To create a mood in a place with light, music, or decorations
Make an event like a party more lively and exciting
Antonyms
How Cheerful
- Informal
- Informal
16
3.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines 'brighten' (make more bright or cheerful) with 'room' (indoor space) in a straightforward compositional way, where the verb’s literal sense easily extends metaphorically to mood or atmosphere. This light→mood metaphor and the construction are common cross-linguistically and follow regular English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
The phrase brighten the room comes from the simple picture of someone opening curtains or switching on a light so the room grows bright when they arrive. That literal light makes people feel happier and more lively, so the phrase now means 'make the atmosphere more cheerful'.