illuminate
verb (used with object)
to supply or brighten with light; light up.
were illuminating
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past progressiveof illuminate.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
It was 45 years before Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland were illuminating the current tournament that a Norwegian by the name of Bjorge Lillelien delivered the speech that has assumed legendary status.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
What kind of person can “do it”? The follow-ups Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked in response to question 34 in voir dire were illuminating on this front.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2024
Researcher Ami Zota, an environmental health expert at George Washington University, is unaffiliated with the study and said the results were illuminating, calling the liquid lipstick and foundation results especially surprising.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 15, 2021
As these new electric signs were illuminating the dawn of the 20th century, a local Finnish couple gave birth to a baby girl in 1913.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2020
In the abbeys all the monks were illuminating the initial letters of their manuscripts with such a riot of invention that it was impossible to read the first page at all.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
