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Synonyms

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.

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.

But with the smallest solar package from Hernandez's company costing $2,000, most Cubans have yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026

“I was thinking this would never see the light of day.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026

And the long-awaited strategy on child poverty will likely see the light of day towards the end of the week.

From BBC • Nov. 29, 2025

What they contain, and whether they will ever see the light of day, remains a mystery.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 15, 2025

I see the light attached to the head car.

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

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.