brighten vs shade

brighten

verb
  • To make bright or brighter in color. 

  • To make illustrious, or more distinguished; to add luster or splendor to 

  • To make more cheerful and pleasant; to enliven 

  • To grow bright, or more bright in color; to clear up 

  • To become brighter or more cheerful in mood 

shade

verb
  • To vary or approach something slightly, particularly in color. 

  • To shield (someone or something) from light. 

  • To reduce (a window) so that only its title bar is visible. 

  • To alter slightly. 

  • To move slightly from one's normal fielding position. 

  • To darken, particularly in drawing. 

  • To surpass by a narrow margin. 

  • To throw shade, to subtly insult someone. 

  • To shield oneself from light. 

noun
  • Something that blocks light, particularly in a window. 

  • A variety of a colour/color, in particular one obtained by adding black (compare tint). 

  • An aspect that is reminiscent of something. 

  • A very small degree of a quantity, or variety of meaning 

  • A ghost or specter; a spirit. 

  • A subtle variation in a concept. 

  • A postage stamp showing an obvious difference in colour/color to the original printing and needing a separate catalogue/catalog entry. 

  • Subtle insults. 

  • A candle-shade. 

  • A cover around or above a light bulb, a lampshade. 

  • Darkness where light, particularly sunlight, is blocked. 

How often have the words brighten and shade occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )