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• illuminati
  illuminati

  plural noun

  persons possessing, or claiming to possess, superior enlightenment.
• Illuminati
  Illuminati

  plural noun

  any of several groups of illuminati, esp in 18th-century France

illuminati

American  

[ih-loo-muh-nah-tee, -ney-tahy] / ɪˌlu məˈnɑ ti, -ˈneɪ taɪ /

plural noun

• illuminato
  singular

1. persons possessing, or claiming to possess, superior enlightenment.

2. (initial capital letter) a name given to different religious societies or sects because of their claim to superior enlightenment.

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Illuminati ¹ British  

/ ɪˌluːmɪˈnɑːtiː /

plural noun

1. any of several groups of illuminati, esp in 18th-century France

2. a group of religious enthusiasts of 16th-century Spain who were persecuted by the Inquisition

3. a masonic sect founded in Bavaria in 1778 claiming that the illuminating grace of Christ resided in it alone

4. a rare name for the Rosicrucians

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illuminati ² British  

/ ɪˌluːmɪˈnɑːtiː /

plural noun

1. a group of persons claiming exceptional enlightenment on some subject, esp religion

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Etymology

Origin of illuminati

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin illūminātī, plural of illūminātus “enlightened”; see illuminate

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

illuminati Illuminati

Several members of the present-day AI illuminati have ties to the university.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

The day we spoke he wore a baseball cap embroidered with the illuminati eye from the Chambers Project logo.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2024

In scathing, often florid language, the report compared the board to a "pyramid scheme," a "self-styled illuminati" and a fish that "rots from the head down."

From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2022

One was an illuminati sign, a pyramid with an eye.

From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2018

A sect of Spanish heretics of the latter part of the sixteenth century; so called because they were light weights— cunctationes illuminati.

From The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce

A common No. 1: an under-one-hour “documentary” titled Illuminati, supposedly produced in 2019 by DOC TV.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2025

Goodie Mob painted with dark lyrics gleaned from a copy of Milton William Cooper’s Illuminati manifesto “Behold a Pale Horse” that Busta Rhymes gave to the group.

From New York Times ● Apr. 15, 2024

In a now-deleted social media post, House of Illuminati said, “We fully apologize for what has happened and will be giving full refunds to each and every person that purchased tickets.”

From Salon ● Mar. 2, 2024

In the lead up to last month's event the organisers, House of Illuminati, advertised a "journey filled with wondrous creations".

From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2024

Dad said that to accept one was to indebt yourself to the Illuminati.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover