lightener

1 4.8

A product used to make hair, skin, or wood lighter in color

noun
/ˈlaɪtənər/

: aclarante

Sue Ellen had applied a hair lightener designed to be used in the sun and now had orange stripes through her brown hair.
skin lightener
hair lightener

Yeah, I'm going to take a touch of my nip and fab lightener and just lighten that up.

Examples

Firstly, to try will be to get a back garden sprayer and also combine hot water, lightener, and soap inside it.

Blog text (5)
The dermatologist recommended a skin lightener to improve the appearance of dark spots on her face.
I've got foundation lightener all over my finger.
Yeah, I'm going to take a touch of my nip and fab lightener and just lighten that up.

STEPHANIE TOMS
Mass distributions of images that idealize whiteness can influence sales of hair straighteners, skin lighteners, and odor masking products.
Sue Ellen used a hair lightener to achieve a sun-kissed look with lighter strands in her brown hair.
To achieve a brighter finish, apply a wood lightener that brings out the natural patterns in the grain.

Synonyms

whitener

vslightener

2 3.8

A substance that makes teeth or clothes look lighter

is used to make things paler rather than fully white

brightener

vslightener

3.7

A product added to laundry to make clothes look whiter and brighter

is used to change actual color not just appearance

How Light

lightener

1 4.8

toner

Archaic

1 6.5

Surface Forms

lightener singular

lighteners plural

Morphology

lightener = lighten (transparent) = light + en + er

The noun is formed in a regular way from the verb 'lighten' with '-er', and the meaning 'a substance that makes something lighter' is straightforward.

Etymology

Lightener comes from the verb lighten, which is made from light meaning 'not dark' or 'bright' and the part -er meaning 'one that'. So a lightener is something that 'makes lighter', for example a product that brightens hair, skin, or wood.