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. 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 ² 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 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

Example Sentences

“What she was doing was not about enlightenment or operating in a different dimension,” Gujarati said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 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

Few topics have been discussed more, to less human enlightenment, than whether women can “have it all”—usually defined as blending marriage, professional ambition and children.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

The way it was angled in the fork, it seemed to be on display, for their benefit or enlightenment: this is a leg.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

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