see the light

Idioms  

1. Also, begin to see the light. Understand or begin to understand something; also, see the merit of another's explanation or decision. For example, Dean had been trying to explain that tax deduction for fifteen minutes when I finally saw the light, or Pat was furious she and her friends were not allowed to go hiking on their own in the mountains, but she began to see the light when a group got lost up there. This term, dating from the late 1600s, originally referred to religious conversion, the light meaning “true religion.” By the early 1800s it was used more broadly for any kind of understanding. Also see light at the end of a tunnel; see the light of day.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

see the light

"Normal fluorescence goes in all directions, regardless of the direction of the incoming beam. But when the ASE threshold is crossed, you see the light cone starting to condense into the forward direction."

From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2026

But for most of those three years, it looked as though “Coyote vs. Acme” might never see the light of day.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

It was becoming abundantly clear it wasn't going to see the light of day yet, because of rows within government about how to pay for it.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

WSJLI: With everything happening right now on “The Bachelorette,” we now have this group of contestants whose TV appearances may never see the light of day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026

The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

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Related Words

• ascertain
• bring to light
• determine
• discover
• dredge up
• excavate
• exhibit
• exhume
• expose
• find
• find out
• reveal
• uncover

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