illumination

American  

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

noun

1. an act or instance of illuminating. 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.  Also called 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

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

Etymology

Origin of illumination

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

Example Sentences

When the sun vanishes early and the chill of darkness comes on deep and fast, there has always been an instinct to gather around a source of warmth and illumination for tales of fearsome happenings.

From Los Angeles Times

Over time, that illumination can also alter the fluorescent molecules themselves so they no longer emit enough light, a problem known as photobleaching that limits how long experiments can run.

From Science Daily

The Plaza features quaint Spanish village scenery built out of its side walls with background illumination that glows pink and then deep purple, emulating a setting sun as the lights go down.

From Los Angeles Times

The archbishop was free to configure it as a workplace, to choose its decorative furnishings and its degree of illumination.

From The Wall Street Journal

His company has been developing illumination with higher-than-usual amounts of blue-enriched light, using faux windows that give the illusion of a blue sky outside and faux skylights that show blue sky with a virtual sun.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• brightness