to brighten up the room
1
2.9
- phrasal verb
- Informal
- It's not directly shining on him, but with the big reflector on it, it surely brightens up the room quite a bit.
Examples
-
They decided to rearrange the furniture to brighten up the room and enhance the light.
-
Her colorful artwork really brightens up the room and makes it feel welcoming.
-
There are alarms that will brighten up the room with light.
-
Those fIowers wiII brighten up the room a Iot, AIice.
-
Adding a few plants can truly brighten up the room and create a cheerful atmosphere.
Synonyms
125
3.4
To make people or a situation feel more cheerful
86
3.7
To make someone feel more active and alert
71
2.7
To make a place or thing look more cheerful by adding color
55
3.7
Become lively and cheerful because someone is there
38
3.9
To make something more interesting or exciting
22
2.7
Make a room or person more cheerful
20
3.6
To make something more exciting or interesting
19
3.9
To make or become more active and interesting
16
4.1
To make a place or event feel lively and energetic
10
3.0
Make a room look cleaner and nicer with small changes
10
5.5
To give more energy and make someone or something feel lively
9
5.1
Make something more interesting and lively, like a room or outfit
8
6.7
Make an event like a party more lively and exciting
8
4.1
Make something more active and interesting
5
3.4
Make a room feel happier and more lively
4
3.3
To make a room or object look brighter and more cheerful
4
3.8
Make a room feel happy and friendly when someone arrives
3
4.1
Make someone or something more lively and interesting
2
3.0
To make a room feel happier and more lively
2
6.7
To make something full of life and energy
1
8.2
To make something more lively or bright
1
4.9
Feels more lively and cheerful
1
8.1
To make something more lively or exciting
Antonyms
How Cheerful
- Informal
1
2.9
- Informal
31
3.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to make a place feel more lively, cheerful, or pleasant' is directly derivable from the constituents: 'brighten' (to add cheer or light), plus the particle 'up' (to increase or intensify), applied to 'room' (a place). This follows a common verb+particle composition found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would very likely infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrase brighten up the room comes from the simple image of opening curtains, switching on lamps, or adding flowers so the room gets more light and color and the verb brighten means 'to make lighter or happier'. That's why it now means 'to make a place feel more lively or cheerful'.