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Common errors series: ‘lightening’ vs. ‘lightning’

Today I’m going to discuss the difference between ‘lightening’ and ‘lightning’ — a mistake I see all too often when proofreading my clients’ work.

Lightening is a verb that means to make something that is heavy less so. For example: By removing some books from my backpack, I will be lightening my load.

Lightning is a noun that means a flash in the sky usually accompanied by thunder and rain. For example: The lightning flashed across the sky like a giant torch.

Just remember that to be quick like lightning, you need to lighten your load by omitting the ‘e’.

Yours in crisp, error-free writing,
Jessica xx

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