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.
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
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin illūminātī, plural of illūminātus “enlightened”; see illuminate
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
From the road, it can be identified only from its logo: an illuminati eye nestled into a pyramid, which sheds a tear into a river that vanishes into the horizon.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2024
One commentor suggested we were all members of the illuminati, or the Freemasons, who gathered with other well-heeled or well-connected degenerates to prove to ourselves that we were above the common herd.
From Slate • May 27, 2023
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 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
Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau, D'Alembert, and Diderot had founded a new school of universal inquiry, and from their bold investigations and startling theories sprang the society of the illuminati, and the race of thinkers.
From English Literature, Considered as an Interpreter of English History Designed as a Manual of Instruction by Coppee, Henry
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.
