Illuminate

Definitions: Illuminate

Illuminate

Verb

1. Make lighter or brighter; "This lamp lightens the room a bit".

2. Make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear: "Could you clarify these remarks?"; "Clear up the question of who is at fault".

3. Paint, as of medieval manuscripts.

Date "illuminate" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1380. (references)

Synonyms: Illuminate

Synonyms: clarify (v), clear (v), clear up (v), crystalise (v), crystalize (v), crystallise (v), crystallize (v), elucidate (v), enlighten (v), illume (v), illumine (v), light (v), light up (v), shed light on (v), sort out (v), straighten out (v). (additional references)

Antonym: confuse (v). (additional references)

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Ornament	Garnish, trim, dizen, bedizen, prink, prank; trick out, fig out; deck, bedeck, dight, bedight, array; begawd, titivate; dress, dress up; spangle, bespangle, powder; embroider, work; chase, emboss, fret, emblazon; illuminate; illustrate.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Crosswords: Illuminate

English words defined with "illuminate": Belight ♦ electron microscope ♦ flare, flash, floodlight, footlight, footlights ♦ houselights ♦ Illuminative, Illuminator ♦ Luminate ♦ panel light ♦ Relumine ♦ spot, spotlight. (references)

Specialty definitions using "illuminate": AIRPORT ATTENDANT, APPRAISER, ART ♦ CARTOON DESIGNER, ctc operator ♦ electronic microscope ♦ GSSR ♦ Hacker Folklore ♦ illumination fire ♦ Patriotism ♦ strip light ♦ TASK LIGHTING, traffic-control operator. (references)

Etymologies containing "illuminate": Belight ♦ Enlimn, Enlumine ♦ ILLUMINATI, illumine ♦ luminous. (references)

Domain	Title
Books	A Medieval Alphabet to Illuminate (reference) Making Candles & Potpourri: Illuminate and Infuse Your Home (reference) The Best of Success: Quotations to Illuminate the Journey of Success (reference) The Christmas Conversation Piece: Creative Questions to Illuminate the Holidays (reference) The Eternal Journey: How Near-Death Experiences Illuminate Our Earthly Lives (reference) (more book examples)

Music	Illuminate (reference) (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Glowing gaseous streamers of red, white, and blue � as well as green and pink � illuminate the ...Credit: NASA.		Heliotrope used for directing sun's rays to distant observer Used to illuminate station site so far distant observer could measure angles.Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.
	Crepuscular rays illuminate half the sky - Antarctic sunset.Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Author	Quotation
Peter Abelard	The purpose and cause of the incarnation was that He might illuminate the world by His wisdom and excite it to the love of Himself.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge	To most men experience is like the stern lights of a ship, which illuminate only the track it has passed.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Title	Author	Quote
Les Miserables	Hugo, Victor	All extreme situations have their flashes which sometimes make us blind, sometimes illuminate us.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Lexicography	Devil's Dictionary	PATRIOTISM, n. Combustible rubbish read to the torch of any one ambitious to illuminate his name. In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer I beg to submit that it is the first.
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

"Illuminate" is generally used as a lexical verb (infinitive) -- approximately 83.11% of the time. "Illuminate" is used about 219 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Lexical Verb (infinitive)	83.11%	182	22,870
Lexical Verb (base form)	13.7%	30	63,341
Adjective (general or positive)	2.28%	5	157,705
Noun (singular)	0.91%	2	245,945
Total	100.00%	219	N/A

Expression using "illuminate": illuminate with light. Additional references.
Hypenated Usage
	Ending with "illuminate": pleasantly-illuminate.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Language		Translations for "illuminate"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Afrikaan		belig (demonstrate, exhibit, expose, light). (various references)

Albanian		zbukuroj me dritë, sqaroj (clarify, dissolve, elucidate, enlighten, enucleate, explain, gloss, illustrate, sharpen, straighten, straighten out), ndriçoj (enlighten, glisten, illumine, irradiate, light, lighten, shine, spotlight), mësoj (acquire, attune, be educated, coach, condition, digest, educate, enure, find, find out, get on to, get wind of, hear, induct, instruct, inure, learn, school, study, teach, train), bëj i shquar. (various references)

Arabic		‏نور (clear, day, edify, enlighten, flare, gleam, glow, illumination), ‏وضح (accentuate, clarify, clear up, define, elucidate, explain, illustrate, light, lighten, puzzle out, ravel out, represent, spell, state), ‏زخرف (adorn, bedeck, deck, decorate, do, embellish, embellishment, emboss, embroider, enrich, flourish, garnish, grace, illustrate, lard, ornament, ornamentation, string, trace, trick, trick out, trick up, trim), ‏أنار (brighten, burn, illumine, irradiate, light, lighten), ‏أضاء (brighten, burn, enlighten, illumine, light, lighten, shine, torch), ‏شهر (give notoriety, malign, month, pillory, proclaim, slander, vilify). (various references)

Bulgarian		украсявам с цветни инициали, украсявам с цветни илюстрации, хвърлям светлина върху (elucidate), осветявам (expose, illumine, irradiate, lamp, light, lighten, shine on, spotlight, strike on), оцветявам (color, colour, imbrue, mottle, paint, pigment, stain, tincture, tint), озарявам (become adult, flash, lighten), обяснявам (account, explain, explicate, impute, interpret, justify, refer, set forth, set out, tell, translate, unravel), просветлявам, придавам блясък на, илюминирам. (various references)

Chinese		照耀 (shine), 照亮 (illuminated, illuminating, lighten, Lightened). (various references)

Czech		iluminovat, slavnostnì osvìtlit, osvìtlit (clarify, elucidate, light, light up). (various references)

Danish		oplyse (light). (various references)

Dutch		verlichten (abate, enlighten, facilitate, light), illumineren (enlighten). (various references)

Esperanto		ilumini (enlighten), lumigi (light). (various references)

Faeroese		lýsa (define, describe, determine, light, shine), kasta ljós á (light), birta ljós (light). (various references)

Farsi		منور, موضوعی راروشن کردن , چراغانی کردن , زرنماکردن , روشن فکر, روشن کردن (Alight, Brighten, Clarify, Daylight, Elucidate, Enlighten, Explain, Ignite, Lighten, Refresh, Relume), درخشان ساختن . (various references)

Finnish		valistaa (educate, enlighten), valaista (elucidate, illustrate, light, light up, shine, throw light). (various references)

French		illuminer. (various references)

Frisian		ferljochtsje (light). (various references)

German		illuminieren (enlighten), erleuchten (enlighten, illume, inspire, light up, lighten), beleuchten (illumine, light, light up), anstrahlen (beam at, floodlight, spotlight). (various references)

Greek		φωτίζω (illumine, light, lighten, lit, shed light on), διαφωτίζω (enlighten, shed light on). (various references)

Hebrew		לעטר (crown, decorate, embellish, illustrate, ornament, trim), ל�"איר (brighten, enlighten, light, lighten, shed light, shine). (various references)

Hungarian		sugarakkal eláraszt, sugarakat lövell, sugarakat önt, megvilágosít (enlighten, to lighten), megvilágít (illumine, light, shine on, to enlighten, to expose, to flash, to illuminate, to illumine, to irradiate, to lighten), kisugároz (emit, eradiate, to emanate, to emit), kibocsát (emit, exhale, give off, launch, throw out, to deflate, to discharge, to emit, to evolve, to exhale, to give forth, to give off, to give out, to issue, to jet, to send forth, to send out, to throw out), felvilágosít (acquaint, disabuse, enlighten, inform, lighten, to clue sy in, to clue sy up, to enlighten). (various references)

Indonesian		menerangi (illumine), mendamari (apply resin to), mencerahkan (enlighten), mencahayai (expose, pour rays on). (various references)

Italian		illuminare (enlighten, illumine, light, light up, lighten), accendere (burn, enkindle, kindle, light, put on, switch, switch on, turn, turn on). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		花明かり (the brilliance of cherry blossoms which illuminate the evening), 照らす　 (to illuminate, to shine on), 照らす (to illuminate, to shine on). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		はなあかり (the brilliance of cherry blossoms which illuminate the evening), てらす (to illuminate, to shine on). (various references)

Korean		조명하십시�". (various references)

Manx		soilshaghey (advertisement, characterize, declaration, demonstrate, describe, exhibit, explain, illumination, illustrate, interpret, interpretation, irradiate, irradiation, light, lighten, manifest, manifestation, notify, publication, publish, represent, show, show forth), jeshaghey lesh daahghyn, jannoo sollys (burnish, burnishing), cur baght er (clear, comment, define, explain, interpret). (various references)

Papiamen		iluminá (enlighten). (various references)

Pig Latin		illuminateay.(various references)

Portuguese		iluminar (beacon, burn, clear, enlighten, glower, illumine, irradiate, lamp, light, lighten, limn, post meridiem, radiate, relume). (various references)

Romanian		ilumina (illumine, lighten), lumina (appear, beacon, brighten, burn, clarify, comprehend, enlighten, explain, lamp, light, light up, lighten, shine, teach, understand), lãmuri (clear, clinch, define, disembroil, disentangle, elucidate, enlighten, explain, illumine, illustrate, justify, lighten, riddle, show, solve, understand, unravel, untie), face sã strãluceascã (brighten up), explica (account, account for, construe, define, elucidate, enlighten, enunciate, explain, explicate, expound, illumine, interpret, justify, riddle, show, untie, vindicate), înviora (engraft, enliven, exhilarate, fire, freshen, invigorate, push, refresh, regenerate, smarten up). (various references)

Russian		освещать (elucidate, illumine, light, lighten). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		ukrasiti (adorn, array, decorate, emblazon, enchase, garnish, ornament, trim), rasvetliti (light up, light upon), osvetliti (illumine, kindle, light, light up, lighten, set light to, shine, spotlight), obasjati (light up, lighten). (various references)

Spanish		lucir (affect, display, flaunt, light up, shine, sport, vaunt), iluminar (colour, enlighten, illumine, light, light up, lighten, shine on, spotlight), encender (burn, fire, firing, ignite, inflame, kindle, light, light up, lighter, put on, set light to, switch on, to ignite, to inflame, turn on), alumbrar (light, light up, lighten). (various references)

Swedish		upplysa (brighten, enlighten, illumine, inform, lighten), eklärera (light up), belysa (elucidate, illumine, illustrate, irradiate, light, light up, lighten). (various references)

Turkish		yaldızlı harflerle süslemek, aydınlatmak (brighten, charge, civilize, clear, clear up, clue, dissolve, elicit, elucidate, enlighten, enucleate, flash, flash on, illume, illumine, irradiate, let daylight into smth., light, light up, lighten, post, rake up, set light to, shine upon, solve, unravel), aydınlanmak (become clear, brighten, clarify, clear up, dawn, light, light up, lighten), ışıtmak (illume, luster), ışıklandırmak (expose, illumine, Ray). (various references)

Turkmen		юцhlelendirmek (elucidate), яagtyltmak. (various references)

Ukranian		ілюмінувати (illumine), роз'яснювати (clarify, expound, illumine), освічувати (illumine), освітлювати (defecate, illumine, irradiate, lamp, light, lighten). (various references)

Welsh		goleuo (enlighten, light). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Language	Period	Translations
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	accendam, accendantur, accendebant, accendens, accendentes, accendere, accenderent, accenderunt, accendet, accendetur, accendimus, accendit, accendo, accendunt, accensa, accensi, accensis, accenso, accensus, accensusque, illustro, inlustra, inlustrabis, inlustrabo, inlustratione, inlustrem, inlustret, inluxerunt, inluxisset, inluxit, limina, luminare, lustrabit, lustrabitur, lustrant, lustrantes, lustrata, lustrationis, lustraverant, lustravi, lustravimus, lustravit, lustret. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "illuminate": illuminated, illuminates. (additional references)
	Words ending with "illuminate": transilluminate. (additional references)
	Words containing "illuminate": transilluminated, transilluminates. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Illuminate" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: alluminati, eluminate, iliminate, illiminate, illumanatti, illuminae, illuminatic, illuminaty, illuminiti, illumminati, ilumina, iluminate, lluminate, sillimanite. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "illuminate" (pronounced i'luw"munā't)
6	-uw" m u n ā' t	ruminate.
5	-m u n ā' t	contaminate, culminate, decontaminate, denominate, determinate, discriminate, disseminate, dominate, eliminate, emanate, exterminate, fulminate, germinate, incriminate, inseminate, nominate, predominate, renominate, terminate.
4	-u n ā' t	agglutinate, alienate, assassinate, carbonate, chlorinate, concatenate, decaffeinate, detonate, fascinate, halogenate, hydrogenate, hyphenate, impersonate, indoctrinate, insubordinate, isocyanate, italianate, marinate, originate, oxygenate, pollinate, procrastinate, rejuvenate, resonate, subordinate, titanate, urinate.
3	-n ā' t	designate, donate, hibernate, impregnate, reincarnate, stagnate.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-e-i-i-l-l-m-n-t-u"
	-1 letter: multilane, multiline.
	-2 letters: illumine, minutiae, minutial.
	-3 letters: ailment, aliment, alumine, alunite, intimae, intimal, inutile, liminal, lumenal, luminal, manille, milline, minutia, mullein, mullite, nautili.
	-4 letters: allium, alumin, alumni, amulet, auntie, eluant, entail, etamin, illite, illume, inmate, intima, intime, lament, lentil, lienal, limina, limuli, lineal, lintel, lumina, lunate, luteal, lutein, maline, mallei, mallet, manitu, mantel, mantle, menial, mental, milieu, millet, minuet, minute, muleta, mullen, mullet, mutine, nielli, taille, tamein, telial, telium, tenail, tineal, tuille, ultima, untame.
	-5 letters: alien, aline, ament, amine, anile, anime, animi, elain, elint, email, entia, ileal, ileum, ilial, ilium, imine, inlet, laten, leant, leman, liane, liman, limen, limit, linum, litai, lumen, lunet, lutea, maile, maill, matin, meant, menta, metal, miaul, milia, mille, minae, mulla, telia, tenia, tinea, tulle, ulema, ulnae, unite, unlet, unlit, unmet, untie, until, utile.
	Words containing the letters "a-e-i-i-l-l-m-n-t-u"
	+1 letter: illuminated, illuminates.
	+2 letters: illuminative.
	+3 letters: multifilament, multiregional, multiterminal.
	+4 letters: manipulatively, mulligatawnies, multifilaments, multipotential.
	+5 letters: aluminosilicate, intellectualism, multimillennial, pusillanimities, transilluminate, unemployability.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.