illuminate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to supply or brighten with light; light up.
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to make lucid or clear; throw light on (a subject).
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to decorate with lights, as in celebration.
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to enlighten, as with knowledge.
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to make resplendent or illustrious.
A smile illuminated her face.
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to decorate (a manuscript, book, etc.) with colors and gold or silver, as was often done in the Middle Ages.
verb (used without object)
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to display lights, as in celebration.
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to become illuminated.
adjective
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Archaic. illuminated.
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Obsolete. enlightened.
noun
verb
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(tr) to throw light in or into; light up
to illuminate a room
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(tr) to make easily understood; clarify
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to adorn, decorate, or be decorated with lights
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(tr) to decorate (a letter, page, etc) by the application of colours, gold, or silver
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(intr) to become lighted up
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- illuminatingly adverb
- illuminative adjective
- illuminator noun
- preilluminate verb (used with object)
- reilluminate verb
- semi-illuminated adjective
- unilluminated adjective
Etymology
Origin of illuminate
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin illūminātus, past participle of illūmināre “to light up, brighten”; illumine ( def. ), -ate 1 ( 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.
Featuring illuminated eyes in the film, and with original wiring in the right socket, this particular C-3PO head boasts several unique features including a forehead antenna.
From Barron's
The 2018 exchange, which was revealed as part of a trove of files released by the Department of Justice, illuminates Epstein’s deep interest and entrenchment in the scientific community.
From Salon
In “Beginnings,” her contemporary works are in conversation with the Getty’s medieval illuminated manuscripts, creating a collision of past and present that broadens our understanding of origin and authorship.
From Los Angeles Times
A rocket blasts off from a launcher, shooting into the sky and illuminating the darkened valley below.
From BBC
Lion and dragon dancers perform on the Great Wall of China, in Badaling, to entertain visitors who have come to enjoy the illuminated monument during the Year of the Horse celebrations.
From Barron's
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.
