illustrate

[ il-uh-streyt, ih-luhs-treyt ]

verb (used with object)

, il·lus·trat·ed, il·lus·trat·ing.

1. to furnish (a book, magazine, etc.) with drawings, pictures, or other artwork intended for explanation, elucidation, or adornment.
2. to make clear or intelligible, as by examples or analogies; exemplify.
3. Archaic. to enlighten.

verb (used without object)

, il·lus·trat·ed, il·lus·trat·ing.

1. to clarify one's words, writings, etc., with examples:

   To prevent misunderstandings, let me illustrate.

illustrate

/ ˈɪləˌstreɪt /

verb

1. to clarify or explain by use of examples, analogy, etc
2. tr to be an example or demonstration of
3. tr to explain or decorate (a book, text, etc) with pictures
4. See enlighten
   tr an archaic word for enlighten

Derived Forms

• ˈillusˌtrative, adjective
• ˈillusˌtratable, adjective
• ˈillusˌtrator, noun
• ˈillusˌtratively, adverb

Other Words From

• illus·trata·ble adjective
• over·illus·trate verb (used with object) overillustrated overillustrating
• pre·illus·trate verb (used with object) preillustrated preillustrating
• re·illus·trate verb (used with object) reillustrated reillustrating
• super·illus·trate verb (used with object) superillustrated superillustrating

Word History and Origins

Origin of illustrate¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin illustrātus, past participle of illustrāre “to illuminate, make clear, give glory to”; il- ¹, luster ¹, -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of illustrate¹

C16: from Latin illustrāre to make light, explain, from lustrāre to purify, brighten; see lustrum

Example Sentences

Now, that last question illustrated the potential downside of asking sensitive questions.

From Freakonomics

That illustrates just how much the creative development process has changed and how much can be achieved asynchronously, he added.

From Digiday

When talking about soundscapes, print articles can only do so much to illustrate the issue.

From Time

According to Mackinac, the example Overton often used to illustrate the window’s movement is the changed public perception of school choice.

From Washington Post

Business needs to work in conjunction with government because, as the pandemic has illustrated all too clearly, when it comes to a global crisis, they depend on governments with their powers of monetary creation and taxation to bail them out.

From Time

This video, courtesy of BuzzFeed, helps to illustrate this phenomenon.

From The Daily Beast

This is likely a lowball number but it has the merit to illustrate the tradeoff that raising the minimum wage requires.

From The Daily Beast

And as the above mentioned clips illustrate, Sesame Street is really good at staying relevant.

From The Daily Beast

His maquettes, or models, illustrate this, too, in their budding materiality.

From The Daily Beast

As if to illustrate the rampant sexism that still exists, hackers threatened to release nude photos of her after her speech.

From The Daily Beast

Let me illustrate: Last week, month, or year you saw a military procession pass along the streets.

From Project Gutenberg

Nothing can more clearly illustrate Napoleon's dictum, "A la guerre les hommes ne sont rien, c'est un homme qui est tout."

From Project Gutenberg

He paused, and to illustrate the imperious humor of the Scot, he waved his fingers and a red wrister at me.

From Project Gutenberg

A few notes will serve to illustrate the chief subjects for care and some important items in fitting instruments properly.

From Project Gutenberg

It is enjoined in statutes of perpetual moral obligation, that illustrate the ten precepts of the law.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• clarify
• delineate
• depict
• embody
• emphasize
• epitomize
• exhibit
• explain
• expose
• highlight
• illuminate
• interpret
• lay out
• manifest
• mark
• mirror
• personify
• point up
• portray
• represent