illustration
Americannoun
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illustrations
plural
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something that illustrates, as a picture in a book or magazine.
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a comparison or an example intended for explanation or corroboration.
- Synonyms:
- explication
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the act or process of illuminating.
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the act of clarifying or explaining; elucidation.
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Archaic. illustriousness; distinction.
noun
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pictorial matter used to explain or decorate a text
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an example or demonstration
an illustration of his ability
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the act of illustrating or the state of being illustrated
Synonym Usage
See case 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonillustrationnoun
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overillustrationnoun
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preillustrationnoun
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reillustrationnoun
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superillustrationnoun
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illustrationaladjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of illustration
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Latin illustrātiōn- (stem of illustrātiō ) “the act of making vivid, illustrating”; see illustrate, -ion
Explanation
When the written instructions get tough, look for an illustration — a picture — to figure out what to do. Assembling furniture? Numbered diagrams and other illustrations can help you avoid the dreaded pile of "leftover" pieces. An illustration can also be a helpful example that isn't visual at all. A coworker who comes to work with a terrible cold and gives it to the whole office is an illustration of what happens when a boss discourages the use of sick days. You hope that the boss isn't an illustration of management at that company! If so, maybe these workers do need a visual: an illustration that shows hand-washing techniques and other ways to avoid germs.
Vocabulary lists containing illustration
Vocabulary of the Common Core
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Florida EOC Biology 1
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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.
See Examples For:
"For me that is such a stark illustration of the way the Church was involved in the slave trade," she says.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
The little boy adds a bright rainbow, a shining sun and a tall tree to his illustration, while other displaced children paint alongside him at a shelter in Pereira.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
De Kooning’s refusal to settle for a single approach is attested to by a series of cartoon-like standing figures, repeated by means of transfer techniques, that recalls those earlier efforts at illustration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
That song is a clear illustration of the clumsiness that was part of my music back then — and it still is, to some degree.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
A nineteenth-century illustration of the 1835 Great Moon Hoax.
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
Eight illustrations by French artist Henri Matisse that were stolen from a library in São Paulo have been recovered by police in Brazil.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
He obtained a college degree, is employed as a drug counselor, and still finds time to give back to the people through his illustrations.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
Colored-pencil illustrations evoke a faded softness, while comic-style panels zoom in, frame by frame, as different actions unfold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Highlights include work by Norman Rockwell and Dorothea Lange, as well as a variety of manga, children’s book illustrations and comics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
He had no idea where he had got his picture of academic life—perhaps from the Dore illustrations of Dante’s Inferno with its massed and radiant angels.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
