illuminate

[ verb ih-loo-muh-neyt; adjective noun ih-loo-muh-nit, -neyt ]

verb (used with object)

, il·lu·mi·nat·ed, il·lu·mi·nat·ing.

1. to supply or brighten with light; light up.
2. to make lucid or clear; throw light on (a subject).

   Synonyms: elucidate, explain, clarify

3. to decorate with lights, as in celebration.
4. to enlighten, as with knowledge.
5. to make resplendent or illustrious:

   A smile illuminated her face.

6. to decorate (a manuscript, book, etc.) with colors and gold or silver, as was often done in the Middle Ages.

verb (used without object)

, il·lu·mi·nat·ed, il·lu·mi·nat·ing.

1. to display lights, as in celebration.
2. to become illuminated.

adjective

1. Archaic. illuminated.
2. Obsolete. enlightened.

noun

1. Archaic. a person who is or affects to be specially enlightened.

illuminate

verb

1. tr to throw light in or into; light up

   to illuminate a room

2. tr to make easily understood; clarify
3. to adorn, decorate, or be decorated with lights
4. tr to decorate (a letter, page, etc) by the application of colours, gold, or silver
5. intr to become lighted up

adjective

1. archaic.
   made clear or bright with light; illuminated

noun

1. a person who has or claims to have special enlightenment

Derived Forms

• ilˈlumiˌnator, noun
• ilˈluminative, adjective

Other Words From

• il·lumi·nating·ly adverb
• preil·lumi·nate verb (used with object)
• reil·lumi·nate verb reilluminated reilluminating
• semi-il·lumi·nated adjective
• unil·lumi·nated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of illuminate¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin illūminātus, past participle of illūmināre “to light up, brighten”; illumine ( def ), -ate ¹( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of illuminate¹

C16: from Latin illūmināre to light up, from lūmen light

Example Sentences

Salon goes through some of "Larger Than Life: Reign of the Boybands" most illuminating moments.

From Salon

A train cruises by their window at night like a caterpillar, the yellow windows of separate lives in other buildings illuminating its way.

From Los Angeles Times

They came up to me afterward and said they laughed, they cried, and also that it was illuminating, that they learned so much.

From Los Angeles Times

While information within India remains scarce, many women say they are turning to social media and that online resources are often more illuminating than conversations with their doctors.

From BBC

Their approach attempts to illuminate a cosmological constant as well as the properties of leptons and quarks.

From Salon

Related Words

• clarify
• define
• dramatize
• elucidate
• explain
• illustrate