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

Viewing the Taurids may be affected by the illumination of the Moon, which could obscure some of the fainter meteors.

From BBC

"When I played for Coventry they were dark days so what Mark Robins gave back to that football club was just glorious light and illumination," Prutton, who had a brief loan spell at the club in 2014, told BBC CWR.

From BBC

"The mindset of every interviewer now in politics is not illumination. It is prosecution."

From Salon

Political interviewers now are not in the business of illumination.

From Salon

The mindset of every interviewer now in politics is not illumination.

From Salon

Related Words

• enlightenment