illustrate
Americanverb (used with object)
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illustrates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
illustrated,
past participle, past
-
illustrating
present participle
-
to furnish (a book, magazine, etc.) with drawings, pictures, or other artwork intended for explanation, elucidation, or adornment.
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to make clear or intelligible, as by examples or analogies; exemplify.
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Archaic. to enlighten.
verb (used without object)
-
illustrates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
illustrated,
past participle, past
-
illustrating
present participle
verb
-
to clarify or explain by use of examples, analogy, etc
-
(tr) to be an example or demonstration of
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(tr) to explain or decorate (a book, text, etc) with pictures
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(tr) an archaic word for enlighten
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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illustratornoun
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overillustrateverb (used with object)
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preillustrateverb (used with object)
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reillustrateverb (used with object)
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superillustrateverb (used with object)
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illustratableadjective
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illustrativeadjective
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illustrativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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illustratesimple
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illustratessimple
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have illustratedperfect
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has illustratedperfect
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am illustratingprogressive
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are illustratingprogressive
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is illustratingprogressive
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have been illustratingperfect progressive
-
has been illustratingperfect progressive
Past
-
illustratedsimple
-
had illustratedperfect
-
was illustratingprogressive
-
were illustratingprogressive
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had been illustratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of illustrate
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin illustrātus, past participle of illustrāre “to illuminate, make clear, give glory to”; see il- 1, luster 1, -ate 1
Explanation
To illustrate is to make something more clear or visible. Children's books are illustrated with pictures. An example can illustrate an abstract idea. The word illustrate comes from the Latin illustrare 'to light up or enlighten.' Pictures in a book enlighten the reader, and a good example can enlighten someone on a complex topic. Another use: The government's actions illustrate how out of touch it is with the people. The history of this word illustrates how language changes over time, and how knowing the original meaning can help you understand the word in a deeper way.
Vocabulary lists containing illustrate
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But here’s what complicates the monster story, and what Hollywood has failed to illustrate in this movie: I also found a young man failed by nearly every system around him.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
Recent advances by IBM, IonQ, Nvidia, and others illustrate the new promise of the complex technology.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Cylinders, donuts, Mobius strips, and Klein bottles can all illustrate how spaces with locally flat geometry can have very different overall structures.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
But this impressive hypothetical return does illustrate the potential of this tax-loss selling strategy.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
To illustrate these problems, consider the following typical example of an often quoted pre-Clovis claim.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
The string of delayed offerings illustrates how quickly investors’ enthusiasm for shares of risky new companies can cool.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
"This discovery illustrates why fieldwork remains indispensable to understanding life's history," said the study's lead author Andres Giallombardo, who found the specimen as a graduate student on a Museum-sponsored expedition in 2004.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
The skirmish illustrates how America’s grid is being strained by AI power demand and increasingly common wildfires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
With memory-chip prices so high, Micron saw its earnings per share rise 1,215% in its last-reported quarter, which illustrates the extent of profit improvement that investors have come to know.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
“It really illustrates that even those of us with a lot of attention still have a breaking point.”
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
There’s a method to all this madness, and it’s best illustrated by the fact that Vance is the one leading the charge.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
This is illustrated in the above chart, which compares each of these ETFs to the S&P 500 over the past one-, three-, five- and seven-year periods.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
It could quickly reverse, as illustrated earlier in the summer when assumptions about a deescalation in the US Iran conflict led to sharp falls in energy prices and yields.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
Philippe recalled receiving illustrated letters almost every week, filled with drawings, doodles and notes of affection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
As the title promised, the volume was lavishly illustrated with thumbnail-sized watercolor paintings, most of which depicted wildflower meadows and snowcapped mountain peaks.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
The rotation into long-dated Treasury ETFs is more than five standard deviations away from its historical average, illustrating just how extreme this shift is relative to normal activity.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
Instinct is rapidly amassing investment dollars, illustrating the rush of excitement around personal AI assistants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
In recent years, Unite Here Local 11 has filed numerous complaints over the Inglewood facility, claiming various wage and health issues, illustrating a bitter battle over movement at the bargaining table.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Gakpo ranks in the 78th percentile for link-up play, the 75th for pass progression and the 67th for creative threat, illustrating his comfort combining in tight spaces and contributing to build-up play.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
There was a biography and picture of the author and steel-cut engravings illustrating scenes from each play.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
