What does "enlightenment" mean?
An act of enlightening, or the state of being enlightened or instructed.
Enlightenment
/ɪnˈlaɪtənmənt/ name, noun
name, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An act of enlightening, or the state of being enlightened or instructed.
- Grammar: enlightenment is listed as name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: nirvana, accomplishment, accomplishments, account.
- Useful contrasts: confusion, dark ages, darkness.
- Usage evidence: As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam – at places like Al-Azhar University – that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment.
How to use "enlightenment"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "enlightenment" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "enlightenment" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "enlightenment" is acting as name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 An act of enlightening, or the state of being enlightened or instructed. uncountable, usually
- 2 education that results in understanding and the spread of knowledge wordnet
- 3 A concept in spirituality, philosophy and psychology related to achieving clarity of perception, reason and knowledge. uncountable, usually
"But the man who has attained enlightenment sees that the apparent reality is mere illusion, or, as was said a couple of thousand years later, that there is nothing good nor bad but thinking makes it so."
- 4 (Hinduism and Buddhism) the beatitude that transcends the cycle of reincarnation; characterized by the extinction of desire and suffering and individual consciousness wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A 17th- and 18th-century European intellectual movement emphasizing rationalism. The period during which it flourished is called the Age of Enlightenment or Age of Reason.
"1997, Chris Horrocks, Introducing Foucault, page 36 (Totem Books, Icon Books; →ISBN He first presented a complementary thesis on the Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), in which he used the term “archaeology” for the first time, and which indicated the period of history to which he was constantly to return. The Enlightenment: the intellectual, philosophical, cultural and scientific spirit of the 18th century. A belief in reason, progress, man’s “maturity” and a general rejection of tradition, religion and authority."
- 2 A 17th- and 18th-century European intellectual movement emphasizing rationalism. The period during which it flourished is called the Age of Enlightenment or Age of Reason.; The peak of that 17th- and 18th-century period during the latter two-thirds of the 18th century.
"What is enlightenment? In a 1784 essay with that question as its title, Immanuel Kant answered that it consists of “humankind’s emergence from its self-incurred immaturity,” its “lazy and cowardly” submission to the “dogmas and formulas” of religious or political authority.¹ Enlightenment’s motto, he proclaimed, is “Dare to understand!” and its foundational demand is freedom of thought and speech. […] What is the Enlightenment?⁴ There is no official answer, because the era named by Kant’s essay was never demarcated by opening and closing ceremonies like the Olympics, nor are its tenets stipulated in an oath or creed. The Enlightenment is conventionally placed in the last two-thirds of the 18th century, though it flowed out of the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Reason in the 17th century and spilled into the heyday of classical liberalism of the first half of the 19th."
Example
"As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam – at places like Al-Azhar University – that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "enlightenment"?
Common synonyms include: nirvana, accomplishment, accomplishments, account, acculturation, acquaintance.
How do you use "enlightenment" in a sentence?
As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam – at places like Al-Azhar University – that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment.
How do you pronounce "enlightenment"?
Pronounced /ɪnˈlaɪtənmənt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From enlighten + -ment.
Etymology 2
Proprialization from enlightenment.