illumination

[ ih-loo-muh-ney-shuhn ]

noun

1. an act or instance of illuminating. illuminating.
2. the fact or condition of being illuminated.
3. a decoration of lights, usually colored lights.
4. Sometimes illuminations. an entertainment, display, or celebration using lights as a major feature or decoration.
5. intellectual or spiritual enlightenment.

   Synonyms: wisdom, insight, revelation, knowledge

6. Also called illuminance, Optics. the intensity of light falling at a given place on a lighted surface; the luminous flux incident per unit area, expressed in lumens per unit of area.
7. a supply of light:

   a source of illumination.

8. decoration of a manuscript or book with a painted design in color, gold, etc.
9. a design used in such decoration.

illumination

/ ɪˌluːmɪˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of illuminating or the state of being illuminated
2. a source of light
3. often plural a light or lights, esp coloured lights, used as decoration in streets, parks, etc
4. spiritual or intellectual enlightenment; insight or understanding
5. the act of making understood; clarification
6. decoration in colours, gold, or silver used on some manuscripts or printed works
7. physics another name (not in technical usage) for illuminance

Derived Forms

• ilˌlumiˈnational, adjective

Other Words From

• il·lu·mi·na·tion·al adjective
• non·il·lu·mi·na·tion noun
• pre·il·lu·mi·na·tion noun
• re·il·lu·mi·na·tion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of illumination¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Medieval Latin illūminātiōn-, stem of illūminātiō “spiritual enlightenment,” from Latin: “illustriousness, glory”; illuminate ( def ), -ion ( def )

Example Sentences

The illumination of the darkness of this case is something we talked about.

From Washington Post

Each individual pixel is a diode that provides its own illumination, so the screen doesn’t need a backlight.

From Popular-Science

The adolescent squid is transparent, but beneath its skin are light-reflecting pigments that, during its brief illumination, seemed to turn it to gold.

From Popular-Science

As scholar Adam Potkay noted in his 2007 book The Story of Joy, “joy is an illumination,” the ability to see beyond to something more.

From Popular-Science

The illumination comes not from the sun but from the infrared energy of the planet and its lower atmosphere.

From Nautilus

The book is fascinating partly for its illumination of the origins of current conventions.

From The Daily Beast

Rather than selective filtering for purposes of justification, information is instead used as the fuel for illumination.

From The Daily Beast

An affair that blossoms in his 40s and is quickly squelched by a departmental rival serves as his single true illumination.

From The Daily Beast

No matter the situation, the knowledge of handlers and the experts pales in comparison to her inner illumination.

From The Daily Beast

Consider the opening of the first illumination, “After the Flood:”

From The Daily Beast

The occupants of the room had been too absorbed with their own affairs to notice the gradual dimming of the illumination.

From Project Gutenberg

An illumination broke over his whole face when he saw her and joined her under the orange tree.

From Project Gutenberg

The intricate perforations of the lamp were inset with colored glass, and the result was a subdued and warm illumination.

From Project Gutenberg

The iris of the human eye dilates and contracts with every shift of illumination, and the Time Observatory had an iris too.

From Project Gutenberg

Nothing can be more beautiful of the kind than such an illumination seen from the ship.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• enlightenment