illustrate

American  

[il-uh-streyt, ih-luhs-treyt] / ˈɪl əˌstreɪt, ɪˈlʌs treɪt /

verb (used with object)

illustrates, present (3rd person singular) illustrated, past participle, past illustrating present participle

1. to furnish (a book, magazine, etc.) with drawings, pictures, or other artwork intended for explanation, elucidation, or adornment.

2. to make clear or intelligible, as by examples or analogies; exemplify.

3. Archaic. to enlighten.

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verb (used without object)

illustrates, present (3rd person singular) illustrated, past participle, past illustrating present participle

1. to clarify one's words, writings, etc., with examples.

   To prevent misunderstandings, let me illustrate.

illustrate British  

/ ˈɪləˌstreɪt /

verb

1. to clarify or explain by use of examples, analogy, etc

2. (tr) to be an example or demonstration of

3. (tr) to explain or decorate (a book, text, etc) with pictures

4. (tr) an archaic word for enlighten

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• illustrator
  noun
• illustrative
  adjective
• preillustrate
  verb (used with object)
• superillustrate
  verb (used with object)
• illustratable
  adjective
• overillustrate
  verb (used with object)
• illustratively
  adverb
• reillustrate
  verb (used with object)

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have illustrated
  perfect
• has illustrated
  perfect 3rd person singular
• are illustrating
  progressive
• is illustrating
  progressive 3rd person singular
• am illustrating
  progressive 1st person singular
• illustrates
  singular 3rd person
• have been illustrating
  perfect progressive
• has been illustrating
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• illustrating
  participle

Past

• had illustrated
  perfect
• was illustrating
  progressive singular
• had been illustrating
  perfect progressive
• illustrated
  simple
• illustrated
  participle
• were illustrating
  progressive plural

Future

• will illustrate
  simple
• will have illustrated
  perfect
• will be illustrating
  progressive
• will have been illustrating
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

“It’ll basically illustrate, if we don’t already realize it, that walkability has been sort of a very forgotten stepchild of all of our transportation planning and building over the years.”

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2026

To illustrate: This year the hyperscalers are set to spend around $700 billion on data centers.

From Barron's • May 23, 2026

And in motorsports, few things illustrate that story better than the evolution of the pit crew.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

Big-ticket durable-goods sales matter because they help illustrate how consumers are coping when they have a choice to spend or not.

From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026

“Are you trying to illustrate a principle of randomness, Doug Swieteck?”

From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt

Related Words

• clarify
• delineate
• depict
• embody
• emphasize
• epitomize
• exhibit
• explain
• expose
• highlight
• illuminate
• interpret
• lay out
• manifest
• mark
• mirror
• personify
• point up
• portray
• represent