illustration
Americannoun
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something that illustrates, as a picture in a book or magazine.
-
a comparison or an example intended for explanation or corroboration.
- Synonyms:
- explication
-
the act or process of illuminating.
-
the act of clarifying or explaining; elucidation.
-
Archaic. illustriousness; distinction.
noun
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pictorial matter used to explain or decorate a text
-
an example or demonstration
an illustration of his ability
-
the act of illustrating or the state of being illustrated
Related Words
See case 1.
Other Word Forms
- illustrational adjective
- nonillustration noun
- overillustration noun
- preillustration noun
- reillustration noun
- superillustration noun
Etymology
Origin of illustration
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Latin illustrātiōn- (stem of illustrātiō ) “the act of making vivid, illustrating”; illustrate, -ion
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.
We learn that Renoir’s scenes of contemporary life often served as illustrations for books and periodicals, and discover the influence of the requirements of reproduction on his technique.
An illustration featuring trees will replace a lion rampant holding a saltire flag.
From BBC
But this takeover is an illustration of how cinema's golden age has faded.
From BBC
Sitting before an illustration of his mother wearing angel wings, Bell told a sports journalist, “I’ve just learned to keep going.”
The illustrations by Leanne Hatch have a warm informality as she shows a family of five lighting the candles on a menorah each evening before dinner.
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.
