illuminate

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments (1)  · 
In this installment of Revolutionary Minds, five people who use the new tools of science to educate, illuminate, and engage.

View all »
Definitions (28)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (11)

  1. transitive verb To provide or brighten with light.
  2. transitive verb To decorate or hang with lights.
  3. transitive verb To make understandable; clarify: "Cleverly made attacks can . . . serve to illuminate important differences between candidates” (New Republic).

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (10)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (4)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (3)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (10)

  • In this installment of Revolutionary Minds, five people who use the new tools of science to educate, illuminate, and engage. —  SEEDMAGAZINE.COM
  • It is these which Mr. Newman is likely to illuminate, and not the faded forms of an obsolete ceremonial that cannot now be restored effectually, were it even important that they should. —  Theological Essays and Other Papers — Volume 1
  • It is such problems as these that we are to-day called upon to illuminate, as far as we may -- it may not yet be very far -- by the dry light of science. —  The Task of Social Hygiene
  • Since, therefore, there came to him from every quarter books to illuminate -- a work in which he was most excellent -- he was known by no other surname than that of "Dai Libri"; and he executed great numbers of them, for the reason that whoever went to the expense of having them written, which was very great, wished also to have them adorned as much as was possible with illuminations. —  Lives of the most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects Vol. 06 (of 10) Fra Giocondo to Niccolo Soggi
  • The more torch-light one flings into the immense cavern which we are now trying to illuminate, the more profound it appears. —  The Physiology of Marriage, Part 3
 

Tags

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 142 times.

On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

instructive ·  inspire ·  insightful ·  amuse ·  meaningful ·  convince ·  helpful ·  satisfactory ·  lucid ·  disturb ·  apt ·  fascinate

Used in the same contextWord Family

illuminate:   illuminating ·  illuminated ·  illuminates
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English illuminaten, from Latin illūmināre, illūmināt- : in-, in; see in-2 + lūmināre, to light up (from lūmen, lūmin-, light; see leuk- in Indo-European roots).

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Latin illuminatus, inluminatus, past participle of illuminare, inluminare (later ult. English illumine and illume, q. v.), light up, illuminate, from in, on, + luminare, light, from lumen (lumin-), light: see luminate.
  2. = French illuminé = Spanish iluminado = Portuguese illuminado = Italian illuminato, from Latin illuminatus, past participle: see the verb.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »

/ɪˈljumɪneɪt/
by American Heritage

Charts

frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word about once a month.

Recently looked up

N.O.W · Initiative · nicety · cin · tectonic

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

eu oi oìa u ou e u oìa · the octopi are dry · Kansas City · spell it rite · put it in your pocket