Library / English Dictionary

ILLUMINATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make lighter or brighter

Example:

This lamp lightens the room a bit

Synonyms:

illume; illuminate; illumine; light; light up

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "illuminate" is one way to...):

lighten; lighten up (become lighter)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "illuminate"):

floodlight (illuminate with floodlights)

spotlight (illuminate with a spotlight, as in the theater)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

illuminant (something that can serve as a source of light)

illumination (the luminous flux incident on a unit area)

illumination (the degree of visibility of your environment)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear

Example:

Clear up the question of who is at fault

Synonyms:

clear; clear up; crystalise; crystalize; crystallise; crystallize; elucidate; enlighten; illuminate; shed light on; sort out; straighten out

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "illuminate" is one way to...):

clarify; clear up; elucidate (make clear and (more) comprehensible)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

illumination (an interpretation that removes obstacles to understanding)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Add embellishments and paintings to (medieval manuscripts)

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "illuminate" is one way to...):

adorn; beautify; decorate; embellish; grace; ornament (make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.)

"Illuminate" entails doing...:

paint (make a painting of)

Domain category:

art; artistic creation; artistic production (the creation of beautiful or significant things)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "illuminate"):

miniate; rubricate (decorate (manuscripts) with letters painted red)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

illumination (painting or drawing included in a book (especially in illuminated medieval manuscripts))

Credits

 Context examples: 

One look at her illuminated face was enough for Messner.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The close relationship of the genes involved in breast cancer and Fanconi anemia has helped illuminate this signaling system, and may help lead to improved understanding and treatment of these conditions.

(Cancer Susceptibility Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

The moment Mrs. Carrol saw the girl's altered face, she was illuminated with a new idea, and exclaimed to herself, Now I understand it all—the child has been pining for young Laurence.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

At first his countenance was illuminated with pleasure, but as he continued, thoughtfulness and sadness succeeded; at length, laying aside the instrument, he sat absorbed in reflection.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

The little chamber lay before us brightly illuminated by a brass lamp which stood upon the table.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The Abbot was left to himself once more, and bent his thin gray face over his illuminated breviary.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A new paper reports a staggering degree of biological diversity that defies contemporary definitions of microbial species and illuminates reasons behind challenges in metagenomic studies.

(Study analyzing cells' blueprints reveals new patterns in the global distribution and diversity of ocean microbes, National Science Foundation)

This newly identified skin-gut communication helps illuminate the relationship between food allergy and atopic dermatitis (a type of eczema), a disease characterized by dry, itchy skin.

(Scratching the skin primes the gut for allergic reactions to food, mouse study suggests, National Institutes of Health)

“Our observations suggest a ball of gas illuminated from the interior, with rays of warm light swirling through stormy patches of dark clouds,” elaborates Lacour.

(GRAVITY instrument breaks new ground in exoplanet imaging, ESO)

A massive dataset has revealed patterns in the regions where coccolithophores live, illuminating the inner workings of the ocean carbon cycle.

(Study reveals changing patterns in globally important algae, National Science Foundation)