enlightening

American

[en-lahyt-n-ing] / ɛnˈlaɪt n ɪŋ /

adjective

informative, instructive, or eye-opening; giving intellectual or spiritual light.

You are encouraged to watch this very enlightening video to better understand what small family farms are up against.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of enlightening

First recorded in 1570–80; enlighten ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He argues, in this entertaining and enlightening book, that the spirit—the fire—that drove the Founding Fathers to risk everything to establish something very new has animated this country ever since.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026

With six politicians vying for your attention, these debates can be noisy and argumentative, but they can also be enlightening and influential.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

Rovere, on the other hand, found the book to be “barren of ideas and imagination,” and “scarcely more interesting or enlightening than the day-by-day newspaper accounts.”

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026

The view from above was enlightening, almost clinical.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

“Isn’t there anything else more enlightening we could watch? Is there anything on PBS? Any documentaries?”

From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023