light-handed
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.37 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Gentle; benign and with minimal intervention.
adj
Light-hearted; fun and witty or easygoing.
adj
adj
Not having a full complement of workers.
Example Sentences
- "Does it reflect your position toward the other agencies that, in the words of your Deputy, this program should be as lighthanded as possible?"
- "On the other hand, lighthanded methods are believed to have more subtle effects on behaviors, often through influencing attitudes, creating knowledge, or manipulating the environment to accomplish desirable ends."
- "They are aware that the more light-handed their power, the more effective it is."
- "FERC then drew on a potentially significant dictum from Farmers Union II: "Moving from heavy to lighthanded regulation within the boundaries of an unchanged statute can ... be justified by a showing that under current circumstances the goal and purposes of the statute will be accomplished through substantially less regulatory oversight.""
- "At the other extreme, the view has been that light-handed 'regulation' is a euphemism for 'handsoff'."
- "By maintaining a light-handed approach, regulations could be kept to a minimum, with additional measures introduced to overcome any weaknesses in the regulartory framework that arose over time."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
Inflected Forms
lighter-handed (comparative)
more light-handed (comparative)
lightest-handed (superlative)
most light-handed (superlative)
lighthanded (alternative)