illumination

American  

[ih-loo-muh-nay-shuhn] / ɪˌlu məˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

• illuminations
  plural

1. an act or instance of illuminating.

2. the fact or condition of being illuminated.

3. a decoration of lights, usually colored lights.

4. Sometimes illuminations. an entertainment, display, or celebration using lights as a major feature or decoration.

5. intellectual or spiritual enlightenment.

   Synonyms:

   wisdom, insight, revelation, knowledge

6. Also called illuminance, intensity of illumination. Optics. the intensity of light falling at a given place on a lighted surface; the luminous flux incident per unit area, expressed in lumens per unit of area.

7. a supply of light.

   a source of illumination.

8. decoration of a manuscript or book with a painted design in color, gold, etc.

9. a design used in such decoration.

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illumination British  

/ ɪˌluːmɪˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of illuminating or the state of being illuminated

2. a source of light

3. (often plural) a light or lights, esp coloured lights, used as decoration in streets, parks, etc

4. spiritual or intellectual enlightenment; insight or understanding

5. the act of making understood; clarification

6. decoration in colours, gold, or silver used on some manuscripts or printed works

7. physics another name (not in technical usage) for illuminance

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonillumination
  noun
• preillumination
  noun
• reillumination
  noun
• illuminational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• illuminations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of illumination

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Medieval Latin illūminātiōn-, stem of illūminātiō “spiritual enlightenment,” from Latin: “illustriousness, glory”; see illuminate ( def. ), -ion ( def. )

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Explanation

Illumination is light. Kids up past their bedtimes have been known to read entire books under their covers using only the illumination from a flashlight. Use the noun illumination to talk about light, like the illumination of the moon on the surface of a lake. Illumination can also refer to an understanding or a spiritual awareness, like when a mystery of your faith suddenly makes sense to you. The Latin root is illuminationem, "throw into light" — you can picture the light bulb over a person's head in a cartoon to remember the various meaning of illumination.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

illumination illuminations

Short came to embody the inverse of that picture, the shaded gloom lurking in places that escape sunshiny illumination.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

"Night-time illumination around the site has returned to higher levels after falling sharply following the suspension," also suggesting increased activity, it said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

The molecules are small and water-soluble, and they respond to common visible or white light, including normal indoor illumination and daylight, without the need for unusually intense or specialized light sources.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

Maybe a young Mexican singer could shed some illumination, I thought, before sending a somewhat incoherent email to Silvana Estrada.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

The only illumination came from a small, dust-covered skylight.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Forestry England wanted people to have mulled wine and Irish cream hot chocolate as they made their way around an illuminations trail at Cannock Chase Forest in Staffordshire, set to run from October.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Marine life that most people never see floated into view, including delicate comb jellies with pulsing fairy-light illuminations along their sides.

From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026

Portraits take on a religious air, becoming icons, and landscapes read more as medieval illuminations than lands of make-believe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

The illuminations set off from the London Eye, and barges moored in a central area of the river featured more than 12,000 fireworks.

From DOGO News ● Jan. 2, 2024

The janitors could not use the elevators because Burnham had ordered them turned off after dark to conserve power for the fair’s nightly illuminations.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

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