illuminate

[ verb ih-loo-muh-neyt; adjective, noun ih-loo-muh-nit, -neyt ]

/ verb ɪˈlu məˌneɪt; adjective, noun ɪˈlu mə nɪt, -ˌneɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR illuminate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), il·lu·mi·nat·ed, il·lu·mi·nat·ing.

to supply or brighten with light; light up.

to make lucid or clear; throw light on (a subject).

to decorate with lights, as in celebration.

to enlighten, as with knowledge.

to make resplendent or illustrious: A smile illuminated her face.

to decorate (a manuscript, book, etc.) with colors and gold or silver, as was often done in the Middle Ages.

verb (used without object), il·lu·mi·nat·ed, il·lu·mi·nat·ing.

to display lights, as in celebration.

to become illuminated.

adjective

Archaic. illuminated.

Obsolete. enlightened.

noun

Archaic. a person who is or affects to be specially enlightened.

Nearby words

illude, illume, illuminable, illuminance, illuminant, illuminate, illuminated, illuminati, illuminating, illumination, illuminative

Origin of illuminate

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin illūminātus (past participle of illūmināre to light up, brighten). See illumine, -ate¹

SYNONYMS FOR illuminate

2 clarify, explain, elucidate.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR illuminate ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

il·lu·mi·nat·ing·ly, adverbpre·il·lu·mi·nate, verb (used with object)re·il·lu·mi·nate, verb, re·il·lu·mi·nat·ed, re·il·lu·mi·nat·ing.sem·i-il·lu·mi·nat·ed, adjective

un·il·lu·mi·nat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for illuminate

These numbers portend to illuminate society-threatening failures within the current immigration enforcement system.
Inside The Center For Immigration Studies, The Immigration False-Fact Think Tank|Caitlin Dickson|May 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Reading them will illuminate your own life and make it better.
What Sebastian Junger, Susan Orlean, and Others Are Reading This Fall|Byliner|November 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Dispensing with some of the objections helps to illuminate this case.
The Case For Cutting Off Aid to Egypt|Ali Gharib|July 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
She has chosen to share her story in order to illuminate the endemic problem of sexual violence in India.
See Who’s Coming to Women in the World 2013: Speakers & Participants||March 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Activists with flashlights should illuminate “vampires—foreign agents.”
Russia Uses ‘Foreign Agent’ Ruse to Crack Down on Memorial & Other NGOs|Anna Nemtsova|November 24, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Place the lamp, which should give a clear, brilliant light, so as to illuminate the wood-work without giving strong shadows.
Harper's Round Table, May 21, 1895|Various
Next they illuminate as splendidly as they can, and pray for felicity towards some domestic idol.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 12, Issue 326, August 9, 1828|Various
All souls first illuminate the sky, and radiate from it their first and purest rays; the remainder is lit up by inferior powers.
Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 2|Plotinos (Plotinus)
Such are some of the thoughts which gleam out the present Book and illuminate the whole Odyssey.
Homer's Odyssey|Denton J. Snider
It was now quite dark, and the boys brought in the two oil lamps from the auto, as well as a lantern, to illuminate the place.
The Motor Boys Across the Plains|Clarence Young

British Dictionary definitions for illuminate

illuminate

verb (ɪˈluːmɪˌneɪt)

(tr) to throw light in or into; light upto illuminate a room

(tr) to make easily understood; clarify

to adorn, decorate, or be decorated with lights

(tr) to decorate (a letter, page, etc) by the application of colours, gold, or silver

(intr) to become lighted up

adjective (ɪˈluːmɪnɪt, -ˌneɪt)

archaic made clear or bright with light; illuminated

noun (ɪˈluːmɪnɪt, -ˌneɪt)

a person who has or claims to have special enlightenment

Derived Formsilluminative, adjectiveilluminator, noun

Word Origin for illuminate

C16: from Latin illūmināre to light up, from lūmen light

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

Word Origin and History for illuminate

illuminate

c.1500, "to light up, shine on," a back-formation from illumination, or else from Latin illuminatus, past participle of illuminare (see illumination). Earlier was enlumyen (late 14c.) "decorate written material with gold, silver, bright colors," from Old French enluminer, from Late Latin inluminare; also illumine (late 14c.). Related: Illuminated; illuminating.

illuminate

verb (used with object), il·lu·mi·nat·ed, il·lu·mi·nat·ing.