illuminati

American  

[ih-loo-muh-nah-tee, -ney-tahy] / ɪˌlu məˈnɑ ti, -ˈneɪ taɪ /

plural noun

singular

illuminato

1. persons possessing, or claiming to possess, superior enlightenment.

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

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Illuminati ¹ British  

/ ɪˌluːmɪˈnɑːtiː /

plural noun

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

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

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

4. a rare name for the Rosicrucians

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illuminati ² British  

/ ɪˌluːmɪˈnɑːtiː /

plural noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of illuminati

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin illūminātī, plural of illūminātus “enlightened”; illuminate

Example Sentences

In scathing, often florid language, the report compared the board to a "pyramid scheme," a "self-styled illuminati" and a fish that "rots from the head down."

From Salon • Sep. 2, 2022

The jean jacket, a favorite of the Highland Park IPA illuminati, is free of the problematic associations of the chore coat.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2022

The illuminati of New York in the ’20s — among them Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley and Harpo Marx — made it their resort.

From New York Times • Nov. 28, 2018

One was an illuminati sign, a pyramid with an eye.

From Slate • Aug. 3, 2018

He built many castles in the air, and peopled them with secret tribunals, and bands of illuminati, who were always the imaginary instruments of his projected regeneration of the human species.

From Nightmare Abbey by Peacock, Thomas Love