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. tr an archaic word for enlighten

Derived Forms

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

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

It really helps illustrate the abstract concept of songwriting.

From BBC

She talks about how much her family sacrificed to aid her success, not to propagate some rag-to-riches Cinderella story but to illustrate how they all worked together to turn a girl named Lauren into a star named Keke.

From Los Angeles Times

Recently the movie “Widow Clicquot” included cinematography of Champagne vines to illustrate how climate affects each year’s output.

From Los Angeles Times

She says these “illustrate his current condition”.

From BBC

To illustrate how the cap functions at the moment – if you look on some of the property listing websites locally you can see a house in east Belfast on the market for about £600,000, and you look elsewhere and there is an 11 bedroom mansion in Cultra for £3.5m.

From BBC

Related Words

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