illustration

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The act of clarifying or explaining.
2. n. The state of being clarified or explained.
3. n. Material used to clarify or explain. See Synonyms at example.
4. n. Visual matter used to clarify or decorate a text.
5. n. Obsolete Illumination.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The act of illustrating, or of rendering clear or obvious; explanation; elucidation; exemplification.
2. n. The state of being illustrated or illumined.
3. n. That which illustrates. Specifically A comparison or an example intended for explanation or corroboration.
4. n. A pictorial representation, map, etc., placed in a book or other publication to elucidate the text.
5. n. Illustriousness; distinction.
6. n. In music, same as development

Wiktionary

1. n. The act of illustrating; the act of making clear and distinct; education; also, the state of being illustrated, or of being made clear and distinct.
2. n. That which illustrates; a comparison or example intended to make clear or apprehensible, or to remove obscurity.
3. n. A picture designed to decorate a volume or elucidate a literary work.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The act of illustrating; the act of making clear and distinct; education; also, the state of being illustrated, or of being made clear and distinct.
2. n. That which illustrates; a comparison or example intended to make clear or apprehensible, or to remove obscurity.
3. n. A picture designed to decorate a volume or elucidate a literary work.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. artwork that helps make something clear or attractive
2. n. an item of information that is typical of a class or group
3. n. a visual representation (a picture or diagram) that is used make some subject more pleasing or easier to understand
4. n. showing by example