illustration
Americannoun
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illustrations
plural
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something that illustrates, as a picture in a book or magazine.
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a comparison or an example intended for explanation or corroboration.
- Synonyms:
- explication
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the act or process of illuminating.
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the act of clarifying or explaining; elucidation.
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Archaic. illustriousness; distinction.
noun
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pictorial matter used to explain or decorate a text
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an example or demonstration
an illustration of his ability
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the act of illustrating or the state of being illustrated
Synonym Usage
See case 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonillustrationnoun
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overillustrationnoun
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preillustrationnoun
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reillustrationnoun
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superillustrationnoun
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illustrationaladjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of illustration
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Latin illustrātiōn- (stem of illustrātiō ) “the act of making vivid, illustrating”; see illustrate, -ion
Explanation
When the written instructions get tough, look for an illustration — a picture — to figure out what to do. Assembling furniture? Numbered diagrams and other illustrations can help you avoid the dreaded pile of "leftover" pieces. An illustration can also be a helpful example that isn't visual at all. A coworker who comes to work with a terrible cold and gives it to the whole office is an illustration of what happens when a boss discourages the use of sick days. You hope that the boss isn't an illustration of management at that company! If so, maybe these workers do need a visual: an illustration that shows hand-washing techniques and other ways to avoid germs.
Vocabulary lists containing illustration
Vocabulary of the Common Core
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Florida EOC Biology 1
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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:
The little boy adds a bright rainbow, a shining sun and a tall tree to his illustration, while other displaced children paint alongside him at a shelter in Pereira.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
An animated Gabriel the Toad character and an illustration of Nogbad firing a cannon at the Ice Dragon both fetched £4,200.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Siren Head’s popularity helped Henderson get other illustration work, including designing characters for the 2024 movie “Tarot.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
But if your 18-year-old doesn’t need the money, they can roll the amount — in this illustration, about $174,000 in today’s dollars, net of taxes — over to a Roth IRA.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
The Paris newspaper Excelsior even ran a comic-strip-like depiction of Perugia’s account—a how-he-did-it illustration of the theft.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
"It does have beautiful illustrations in it and some pages that fold out to show you they were using exact measurements of some of the monuments in Greece."
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
He obtained a college degree, is employed as a drug counselor, and still finds time to give back to the people through his illustrations.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
Colored-pencil illustrations evoke a faded softness, while comic-style panels zoom in, frame by frame, as different actions unfold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Highlights include work by Norman Rockwell and Dorothea Lange, as well as a variety of manga, children’s book illustrations and comics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
She was only familiar with illustrations from books they’d used in their anatomy training at the Little Palace.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
