illuminate
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.
to display lights, as in celebration.
to become illuminated.
Archaic. illuminated.
Obsolete. enlightened.
Archaic. a person who is or affects to be specially enlightened.
Origin of illuminate
1Other words for illuminate
Other words from illuminate
- il·lu·mi·nat·ing·ly, adverb
- pre·il·lu·mi·nate, verb (used with object)
- re·il·lu·mi·nate, verb, re·il·lu·mi·nat·ed, re·il·lu·mi·nat·ing.
- sem·i-il·lu·mi·nat·ed, adjective
- un·il·lu·mi·nat·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use illuminate in a sentence
"Due principally to the divorce courts and the bankruptcy laws," explained the man illuminatingly.
The Tigress | Anne WarnerThere was unusual color in her cheeks and the clarity of her eyes spoke illuminatingly of superb health.
Parrot & Co. | Harold MacGrathNo lights were needed, as nature's electricity was illuminatingly sufficient.
Collection of Nebraska Pioneer Reminiscences | Nebraska Society of the Daughters of the American RevolutionThere is nothing which mirrors the individual and composite mind of a country so illuminatingly as its literature.
Idling in Italy | Joseph CollinsHe had made them—Mrs. Maturin once illuminatingly remarked—more like children.
The Dwelling Place of Light, Complete | Winston Churchill
British Dictionary definitions for illuminate
(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
archaic made clear or bright with light; illuminated
a person who has or claims to have special enlightenment
Origin of illuminate
1Derived forms of illuminate
- illuminative, adjective
- illuminator, noun
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
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