illumination

[ ih-loo-muh-ney-shuhn ]

/ ɪˌlu məˈneɪ ʃən /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: illumination / illuminations on Thesaurus.com

noun

an act or instance of illuminating.

the fact or condition of being illuminated.

a decoration of lights, usually colored lights.

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

intellectual or spiritual enlightenment.

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.

a supply of light: a source of illumination.

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

a design used in such decoration.

OTHER WORDS FOR illumination

5 knowledge, revelation, insight, wisdom.

See synonyms for illumination on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of illumination

1300–50; Middle English <Medieval Latin illūminātiōn- (stem of illūminātiō) spiritual enlightenment (Latin: illustriousness, glory) See illuminate, -ion

OTHER WORDS FROM illumination

il·lu·mi·na·tion·al, adjectivenon·il·lu·mi·na·tion, nounpre·il·lu·mi·na·tion, nounre·il·lu·mi·na·tion, noun

Words nearby illumination

illuminance, illuminant, illuminate, illuminati, illuminating, illumination, illuminative, illuminator, illumine, illuminism, illuminometer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use illumination in a sentence

The illumination of the darkness of this case is something we talked about.
Four police officers shot Amadou Diallo 19 times. A new photography project names them.|Geoff Edgers|December 3, 2020|Washington Post
Each individual pixel is a diode that provides its own illumination, so the screen doesn’t need a backlight.
The best entertainment tech of 2020|Stan Horaczek|December 3, 2020|Popular-Science
The adolescent squid is transparent, but beneath its skin are light-reflecting pigments that, during its brief illumination, seemed to turn it to gold.
Check out the breathtaking winners of the 2020 Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest|Rachael Zisk|October 20, 2020|Popular-Science
As scholar Adam Potkay noted in his 2007 book The Story of Joy, “joy is an illumination,” the ability to see beyond to something more.
How to find joy during tough times|By Angela Gorrell/The Conversation|October 9, 2020|Popular-Science

The illumination comes not from the sun but from the infrared energy of the planet and its lower atmosphere.
These Images Expose the Dark Side of the Solar System - Issue 89: The Dark Side|Corey S. Powell|August 26, 2020|Nautilus
The book is fascinating partly for its illumination of the origins of current conventions.
How the News Business Found Its Footing|Nick Romeo|June 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rather than selective filtering for purposes of justification, information is instead used as the fuel for illumination.
What Hockey Players Can Teach our Toothless Politicians|Dave Maney|April 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
An affair that blossoms in his 40s and is quickly squelched by a departmental rival serves as his single true illumination.
Must-Read College Novels: From “Lucky Jim” to “Pnin”|Sam Munson|August 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
No matter the situation, the knowledge of handlers and the experts pales in comparison to her inner illumination.
10 Juicy Bits from Christine O’Donnell’s ‘Troublemaker’|David Sessions|August 12, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Consider the opening of the first illumination, “After the Flood:”
When Your Hero’s an SOB|Bruce Duffy|August 1, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The occupants of the room had been too absorbed with their own affairs to notice the gradual dimming of the illumination.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
An illumination broke over his whole face when he saw her and joined her under the orange tree.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
The intricate perforations of the lamp were inset with colored glass, and the result was a subdued and warm illumination.
Dope|Sax Rohmer
The iris of the human eye dilates and contracts with every shift of illumination, and the Time Observatory had an iris too.
The Man from Time|Frank Belknap Long
Nothing can be more beautiful of the kind than such an illumination seen from the ship.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil|Maria Graham

British Dictionary definitions for illumination

illumination

/ (ɪˌluːmɪˈneɪʃən) /

noun

the act of illuminating or the state of being illuminated

a source of light

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

spiritual or intellectual enlightenment; insight or understanding

the act of making understood; clarification

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

physics another name (not in technical usage) for illuminance

Derived forms of illumination

illuminational, adjective

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

illumination

OTHER WORDS FOR illumination

Origin of illumination

OTHER WORDS FROM illumination

Words nearby illumination

Words related to illumination

How to use illumination in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for illumination

Derived forms of illumination