illuminati

[ ih-loo-muh-nah-tee, -ney-tahy ]

/ ɪˌlu məˈnɑ ti, -ˈneɪ taɪ /

plural noun, singular il·lu·mi·na·to [ih-loo-muh-nah-toh, -ney-] /ɪˌlu məˈnɑ toʊ, -ˈneɪ-/.

persons possessing, or claiming to possess, superior enlightenment.

(initial capital letter) a name given to different religious societies or sects because of their claim to superior enlightenment.

Nearby words

Origin of illuminati

1590–1600; < Latin illūminātī, plural of illūminātus enlightened; see illuminate

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

Examples from the Web for illuminati

As a noted feminist/ illuminati member/ Goddess/ walking Instagram video, Beyoncé certainly wears many hats/ veils/ body suits.
The Beyoncé Manifesto: Quotes on Nihilism and Feminism|Amy Zimmerman|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She believes the Illuminati are leaving secret clues in, among other places, the viral Kony 2012 video.
The Kardashian Look-Alike Trolling for Assad|Noah Shachtman, Michael Kennedy|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For example, a website accumulated all of my music videos to point out perceived Illuminati images.
DJ Steve Aoki: To Cake or Not To Cake|Steve Aoki|August 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The symbol is sometimes associated with the Illuminati, but that same symbol also dates back to ancient Egypt.
Jay-Z Just Can’t Get Away From the Illuminati Rumors|Allison Samuels|March 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Illuminati is the plural of illuminatus, which means “enlightened.”
Jay-Z Just Can’t Get Away From the Illuminati Rumors|Allison Samuels|March 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
There was found in the hand-writing of Zwack a project for a Sisterhood, in subserviency to the designs of the Illuminati.
Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments of Europe|John Robison
But the Jewish connexions of certain other Illuminati cannot be disputed.
Secret Societies And Subversive Movements|Nesta H. Webster
The doctrines of the Illuminati began about this time to spread in Germany, and Schneider speedily joined the sect.
The Paris Sketch Book of Mr. M. A. Titmarsh|William Makepeace Thackeray
In woman it is very great, and it is perhaps the genuine source of the disgust of which the Illuminati were suspicious.
Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments of Europe|John Robison
Curses and persecution for the devil's offspring, the Illuminati, we swear!
Old Fritz and the New Era|Louise Muhlbach

British Dictionary definitions for illuminati

illuminati

/ (ɪˌluːmɪˈnɑːtiː) /

pl n singular -to (-təʊ)

a group of persons claiming exceptional enlightenment on some subject, esp religion

Word Origin for illuminati

C16: from Latin, literally: the enlightened ones, from illūmināre to illuminate

Illuminati

/ (ɪˌluːmɪˈnɑːtiː) /

pl n singular -to (-təʊ)

any of several groups of illuminati, esp in 18th-century France

a group of religious enthusiasts of 16th-century Spain who were persecuted by the Inquisition

a masonic sect founded in Bavaria in 1778 claiming that the illuminating grace of Christ resided in it alone

a rare name for the Rosicrucians

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 illuminati

illuminati

1590s, plural of Latin illuminatus "enlightened" (in figurative sense), past participle of illuminare (see illumination). Originally applied to a 16c. Spanish sect (the Alumbrados), then to other sects; since 1797 used as a translation of German Illuminaten, name of a secret society founded 1776 in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, and holding deistic and republican principles; hence used generally of free-thinkers and sarcastically of those professing intellectual enlightenment (1816). Related: Illuminatism; illuminatist.