persons possessing, or claiming to possess, superior enlightenment.
(initial capital letter) a name given to different religious societies or sects because of their claim to superior enlightenment.
any of several groups of illuminati, esp in 18th-century France
a group of religious enthusiasts of 16th-century Spain who were persecuted by the Inquisition
a masonic sect founded in Bavaria in 1778 claiming that the illuminating grace of Christ resided in it alone
a rare name for the Rosicrucians
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin illūminātī, plural of illūminātus “enlightened”; see illuminate
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Several members of the present-day AI illuminati have ties to the university.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
From the road, it can be identified only from its logo: an illuminati eye nestled into a pyramid, which sheds a tear into a river that vanishes into the horizon.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2024
One commentor suggested we were all members of the illuminati, or the Freemasons, who gathered with other well-heeled or well-connected degenerates to prove to ourselves that we were above the common herd.
From Slate ● May 27, 2023
In scathing, often florid language, the report compared the board to a "pyramid scheme," a "self-styled illuminati" and a fish that "rots from the head down."
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2022
He built many castles in the air, and peopled them with secret tribunals, and bands of illuminati, who were always the imaginary instruments of his projected regeneration of the human species.
From Nightmare Abbey by Peacock, Thomas Love
A common No. 1: an under-one-hour “documentary” titled Illuminati, supposedly produced in 2019 by DOC TV.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2025
He joked, “Shouldn’t this gathering be happening in a volcano’s lair near Zurich? Or are we just open-sourcing the Illuminati now?”
From Salon ● Jan. 21, 2025
Coull, of Anniesland in Glasgow, who ran the event through his House of Illuminati firm, was accused of “scamming children” by parents outside the event.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2024
Goodie Mob painted with dark lyrics gleaned from a copy of Milton William Cooper’s Illuminati manifesto “Behold a Pale Horse” that Busta Rhymes gave to the group.
From New York Times ● Apr. 15, 2024
Dad said that to accept one was to indebt yourself to the Illuminati.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
