Illuminate

//ɪˈl(j)umɪneɪt// adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Someone thought to have an unusual degree of enlightenment.
Verb
  1. 1
    To shine light on something. transitive

    "Nero illuminated his gardens with live Christians soaked in tar, and we were now treated to a similar spectacle, probably for the first time since his day, only happily our lamps were not living ones."

  2. 2
    introduce light into wordnet
  3. 3
    To decorate something with lights. transitive
  4. 4
    make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear wordnet
  5. 5
    To clarify or make something understandable. figuratively, transitive

    "Jan and Maidi, a lesbian couple, do a very funny routine illuminating the simplicity of the alternative fertilization process and even go so far as to recommend the most suitable receptacles for the semen: marinated artichoke heart jars."

Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    add embellishments and paintings to (medieval manuscripts) wordnet
  2. 7
    To decorate the page of a manuscript book with ornamental designs. transitive
  3. 8
    To make spectacular. figuratively, transitive

    "Hodgson's approach may not illuminate proceedings in Poland and Ukraine but early evidence suggests they will be tough to break down."

  4. 9
    To glow; to light up. intransitive

    "Red diode in button illuminates when camera runs at speed set in five-digit speed selector."

  5. 10
    To be exposed to light. intransitive
  6. 11
    To direct a radar beam toward. transitive
Adjective
  1. 1
    Enlightened, illuminated, made bright. obsolete

    "February 28 1630, Joseph Hall, The Hypocrite do ye see an illuminate elder of the anabaptists rapt in divine ecstasies?"

  2. 2
    Enlightened spiritually, divinely taught or inspired; in technical use, converted, baptized. figuratively
  3. 3
    Learned, erudite. archaic

Synonyms

All synonyms
clearelucidateenlightenillumeillumineillustrate

Example

More examples

"Men of genius are meteors destined to burn in order to illuminate their century."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English illuminaten, borrowed from Latin illūminātus, perfect passive participle of illūminō (“lighten, light up, show off”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more), from in + lūminō (“light up”), from lūmen (“light”). Cognate with Old English lȳman (“to glow, shine”). More at leam.

Etymology 2

From Latin illūminātus, see Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more. For sense 3, see also Lumières.

Etymology 3

From a substantivation of the above adjective, see -ate (noun-forming suffix) for more.

Related phrases

light up

More for "illuminate"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.