# lighten vs lightly

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### lighten
*verb · IPA /ˈlaɪ.tn̩/ · frequency rank #18,357*
To make brighter or clearer; to illuminate.

### lightly
*adverb · IPA /ˈlaɪtli/ · frequency rank #7,577*
In a light manner.

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