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• enlightenment
  enlightenment

  noun

  the act of enlightening.
• Enlightenment
  Enlightenment

  noun

  an 18th-century philosophical movement stressing the importance of reason and the critical reappraisal of existing ideas and social institutions

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. 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 ² 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 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

Explanation

Enlightenment is education or awareness that brings change, such as your enlightenment about nutrition that leads you to throw out every last bit of your family's junk food. In Hinduism and Buddhism, enlightenment is also sometimes called "awakening" — after all, the name "Buddha" means "the awakened one." Not all enlightenments are spiritual: your enlightenment about environmental issues, for example, can awaken you to new ways of conserving resources like water and electricity. The Enlightenment started in the 1700s, a historical era defined by a focus on reason and science.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

enlightenment Enlightenment

I arrived at Longshan Temple, in the old part of western Taipei, on a Saturday, unaware that it was the anniversary of the enlightenment of Guanyin, the Buddhist goddess of mercy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

“Who Is The Sky?,” which Byrne made with the producer Kid Harpoon, contrasts deep lyrics about art, home and enlightenment with bright pop arrangements filled with crisp grooves and singalong melodies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

But the genre also requires action, adventure, enlightenment, struggle, the guest-host relationship observed by the ancients and the supremacy of brains over brawn.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

Rebecca Nagle: The part we all know is the part where Thomas Jefferson is pontificating about these enlightenment ideals.

From Slate ● Jul. 3, 2026

A koan is like a riddle that’s supposed to help you toward enlightenment in Zen Buddhism.

From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green

He thinks that companies have skipped to the next phase of the cycle, the Slope of Enlightenment, which is the step that occurs before the Plateau of Productivity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Many of these ideas can be traced back to the controversial thinker and tech founder Curtis Yarvin, who has been called the "founder of the Dark Enlightenment".

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

The principles of the Enlightenment, applied to government, gave us the Declaration of Independence; applied to architecture, they gave us Monticello.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

The Scottish Enlightenment is really kind of the origin story of the Declaration of Independence.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026

In politics, science, philosophy and literature this was the period of the Enlightenment.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

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