- present participle of illuminate.
illuminating
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of illuminating
First recorded in 1555–65; illuminat(e) + -ing 2
Explanation
Something that's illuminating makes you better informed, more aware, or more inspired. An illuminating documentary film gives you all kinds of new information about its subject. Describe things as illuminating when they clarify the situation or explain the facts. A long conversation with someone you don't know well can be illuminating, helping you understand her much better. Likewise, studying the details of any subject, whether it's dog training or art history, is also illuminating. The verb illuminate means "light up," and it comes from the Latin word illuminare, "to throw into light or make bright," which is also figuratively used to mean "illustrate."
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.
It is Mungiu’s sharpest and most illuminating maneuver.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 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
The Journal’s Washington Coverage Chief Damian Paletta and political reporters Sabrina Rodriguez and Josh Dawsey will tell us how they’re bringing audiences inside the places and conversations illuminating American living rooms and assembly halls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Only a faint glow of moonlight spilled through the window, illuminating my bed and the spinning wheel.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
