enlightening

American  

[en-lahyt-n-ing] / ɛnˈlaɪt n ɪŋ /

adjective

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

• enlighteningly adverb
• nonenlightening adjective
• unenlightening adjective

Etymology

Origin of enlightening

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

Example Sentences

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

But he knows that, if a critic can’t draw enlightening connections, attribution is only a parlor game.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

Lily-May, 18, also from Shimna Integrated College, said while it was "enlightening" meeting other young people passionate about the climate, most of her peers are "not really engaged".

From BBC • Nov. 12, 2025

It is militarily, politically and even intellectually enlightening, but is more deliberately about selflessness and valor, not an inappropriate offering for Veterans Day.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025

Similarly, whenever I used to think a conversation I’d had with someone was especially funny or enlightening, I would jot it down in my notebook, the same one I kept my book titles in.

From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley

Related Words

• informative
• instructional
• instructive