enlightenment

American  

[en-lahyt-n-muhnt] / ɛnˈlaɪt n mənt /

noun

1. the act of enlightening.

2. the state of being enlightened.

   to live in spiritual enlightenment.

3. (usually initial capital letter) prajna.

4. the Enlightenment, a philosophical movement of the 18th century, characterized by belief in the power of human reason and by innovations in political, religious, and educational doctrine.

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Enlightenment ¹ British  

/ ɪnˈlaɪtənmənt /

noun

1. an 18th-century philosophical movement stressing the importance of reason and the critical reappraisal of existing ideas and social institutions

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enlightenment ² British  

/ ɪnˈlaɪtənmənt /

noun

1. the act or means of enlightening or the state of being enlightened

2. Buddhism the awakening to ultimate truth by which man is freed from the endless cycle of personal reincarnations to which all men are otherwise subject

3. Hinduism a state of transcendent divine experience represented by Vishnu: regarded as a goal of all religion

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Enlightenment Cultural  

1. An intellectual movement of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries marked by a celebration of the powers of human reason, a keen interest in science, the promotion of religious toleration, and a desire to construct governments free of tyranny. Some of the major figures of the Enlightenment were David Hume, Immanuel Kant, John Locke, the Baron de Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Voltaire.

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Other Word Forms

• preenlightenment noun
• reenlightenment noun

Etymology

Origin of enlightenment

First recorded in 1660–70; enlighten + -ment

Explanation

Enlightenment is education or awareness that brings change, such as your enlightenment about nutrition that leads you to throw out every last bit of your family's junk food. In Hinduism and Buddhism, enlightenment is also sometimes called "awakening" — after all, the name "Buddha" means "the awakened one." Not all enlightenments are spiritual: your enlightenment about environmental issues, for example, can awaken you to new ways of conserving resources like water and electricity. The Enlightenment started in the 1700s, a historical era defined by a focus on reason and science.

Example Sentences

In the mid-1970s, Florida began a period of environmental enlightenment.

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026

In one tense scene with her white colleagues, Cosey winces at their version of historical enlightenment — the reclamation project is moving at a horse-drawn carriage’s pace.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026

Aleys, at first, seems to be on a path toward personal enlightenment.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2026

Although rooted in writings of the 18th-century European enlightenment, these ideas sprouted in the American soil of an expanding frontier where economic opportunities fed and were fed by political independence, legal liberties and social equality.

From Salon • Jan. 10, 2026

She called one friend after another, but none of them had seen the news story the night before either, and they could offer only moral support, not enlightenment.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Related Words

• awareness
• civilization
• insight
• literacy
• sophistication
• understanding
• wisdom