brighten
/ˈbɹaɪtən/
"brighten" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“brighten” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #20,862 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #20,862
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To make bright or brighter in color.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | brighten |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈbɹaɪtən/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #20,862 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “brighten” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for brighten is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbɹaɪtən/. Corpus data places it at rank #20,862 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for brighten, with forms such as "bbrighten", "birghten", and "brgihten". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "Brighton", "brighter", "brightly", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From bright + -en. The correct English form is brighten, spelled B-R-I-G-H-T-E-N.
Definition
- 1To make bright or brighter in color.
- 2To make illustrious, or more distinguished; to add luster or splendor to
- 3To make more cheerful and pleasant; to enliven
- 4To grow bright, or more bright in color; to clear up
- 5To become brighter or more cheerful in mood
Etymology
From bright + -en.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bbrighten,birghten,brgihten,brigghten,brighetn,brighhten,brightenn,brightne,brightten,brigthen,brihgten,brrighten,rbighten
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of brighten - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "brighten"?
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Using “brighten”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-R-I-G-H-T-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbɹaɪtən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Brighton” - see the side-by-side comparison. brighten vs Brighton
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.