illuminate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
illuminates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
illuminated,
past participle, past
-
illuminating
present participle
-
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)
-
illuminates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
illuminated,
past participle, past
-
illuminating
present participle
-
to display lights, as in celebration.
-
to become illuminated.
adjective
-
Archaic. illuminated.
-
Obsolete. enlightened.
noun
verb
-
(tr) to throw light in or into; light up
to 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
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
illuminatornoun
-
reilluminateverb
-
preilluminateverb (used with object)
-
illuminativeadjective
-
semi-illuminatedadjective
-
unilluminatedadjective
-
illuminatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
illuminatesimple
-
illuminatessimple
-
have illuminatedperfect
-
has illuminatedperfect
-
am illuminatingprogressive
-
are illuminatingprogressive
-
is illuminatingprogressive
-
have been illuminatingperfect progressive
-
has been illuminatingperfect progressive
Past
-
illuminatedsimple
-
had illuminatedperfect
-
was illuminatingprogressive
-
were illuminatingprogressive
-
had been illuminatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of illuminate
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin illūminātus, past participle of illūmināre “to light up, brighten”; see illumine ( def. ), -ate 1 ( def. )
Explanation
To illuminate is to light up — with physical light or with an idea. A spotlight might illuminate an actor on stage, and a good chemistry teacher might illuminate students with a lesson on the atomic structure of hydrogen. Originally, the verb illuminate referred to decorating handwritten manuscripts with bright lettering or pictures. Monks illuminated manuscripts with colors like gold, silver, bright red, and blue. Nowadays you can illuminate anything in the dark — either literally or figuratively. If you are afraid of the dark, illuminate your bedroom. In the dark when it comes to organic chemistry? Get an illuminating tutor.
Vocabulary lists containing illuminate
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Let There Be Light: Lum and Luc
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 4
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
But this year may also illuminate broader forces that continue to resonate long after votes are counted.
From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2026
But if there is one clue that begins to illuminate the greatest mystery of the 2026 baseball season, it’s in Skenes’s velocity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
It may also illuminate some of the ancient chemical steps that eventually contributed to the emergence of life on Earth.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
Twenty- fours later, 70,000 fans hold up their phones and illuminate the stadium as Asha Bohsle's vocals ring out.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
There’s a moment where the headlamps illuminate the ice and water below, like a swimming pool, but then the hood crashes through and, with a shower of sparks, everything goes dark.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Subtitled “The Women of the Viking World,” Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir’s study illuminates the reality of the female experience in late Iron Age Scandinavia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
For many fans “The Mad King” illuminates a time in Westeros history that has only been hinted at in the books, and explored in more limited ways onscreen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
It’s worth thinking about because it illuminates the principles that we should be applying to questions of governance in this country.
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026
While we’re on the topic of Brin and Lake Tahoe, let me share another early anecdote that illuminates the mindset I’m referring to, and that I wrote about way back in 1999.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 1, 2026
It illuminates her face but casts shadows in her eyes.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Elsewhere, King Gillette Ranch’s “Night of the Jack” is a milelong trail filled with pumpkin delights and illuminated installations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Oxygen ions produce bright emission lines when illuminated by massive stars, which makes them comparatively easy to detect.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
The panel is filled with illuminated diamond shapes, a longstanding motif in the company’s designs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
The appearance of the arena was immediately striking, with an infield painted black with the intention of directing the audience's focus to the illuminated live action.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Mama’s gaze had locked on an illuminated tent set across the Night Zoo’s grounds; other beastkeepers were already heading toward it with animals in tow.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
Oral arguments at the Supreme Court can be illuminating, and a classic was Monday’s in Suncor v.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Nobel Prize-winning American researcher Karl Deisseroth is a psychiatrist, neuroscientist and bioengineer who has spent more than two decades illuminating the workings of the brain to unlock its mysteries.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Rather than behaving like a lamp illuminating everything around it, the jet acts more like a concentrated beam that causes gas to glow along its path.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
Thousands had come to watch that night and marvel at the temporary lights illuminating the field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
The helicopter was still a ways off, but they could see its searchlight cutting through the darkness, illuminating the falling snow.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
