illuminant

[ ih-loo-muh-nuhnt ]

noun

an illuminating agent or material.

Origin of illuminant

1635–45; <Latin illūminant- (stem of illūmināns) present participle of illūmināre to light up, brighten, equivalent to illūmin- (see illumine) + -ant--ant

Other words from illuminant

non·il·lu·mi·nant, noun
un·il·lu·mi·nant, adjective

Words Nearby illuminant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use illuminant in a sentence

As time passed, and the new illuminant was backward in appearing, the shares recovered their old value.
Heroes of the Telegraph | J. Munro
The general illuminant is electricity, and both electrical and gas services are owned by the municipality.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 4 | Various
So that, light for light, acetylene fouls the air less than any ordinary illuminant excepting the Welsbach gas burner.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, July 1899 | Various
Owing to the lack of a good illuminant the bulk of the people retire with the fowls and rise with the sun.
Wisconsin in Story and Song; | Various
Acetylene gives a light which is nearest to sunlight of any artificial illuminant.
Oxy-Acetylene Welding and Cutting | Harold P. Manly

British Dictionary definitions for illuminant

illuminant

/ (ɪˈluːmɪnənt) /

noun

something that provides or gives off light

adjective

giving off light; illuminating

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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