# brighten vs brightly

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### brighten
*verb · IPA /ˈbɹaɪtən/ · frequency rank #20,862*
To make bright or brighter in color.

### brightly
*adverb · IPA /ˈbɹaɪtli/ · frequency rank #16,185*
In a bright manner.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brighten-vs-brightly