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

When chief engineer Brian Fraser urged the crew to cut back on the illuminations, the ship's radio officer wrote him a cheeky reply - in rhyme.

From BBC

Viewing will also be hampered by the waning gibbous moon at 93% of its full illumination and present in the sky throughout the night.

From BBC

"We use the variation in photon counts over different illumination points across the surface," says Tafone.

From Science Daily

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

From BBC

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

From Salon

Related Words

• enlightenment