to illuminate
53
4.1
- verb
- /ɪˈluːməˌneɪt/
- Only the light from the entranceway illuminates her now, and Joe is not visible.
- lights illuminate
- illuminated by the sun
- illuminated by sunlight
Loading YouTube…
Watch on YouTubeI remember getting up the red light in the room that normally illuminated the room was off.
- I remember getting up the red light in the room that normally illuminated the room was off.
- And so we've opted for one stationary light that basically illuminates the whole experience.
- This is the brightening brick powder illuminate in the shade pink.
- It was like my piss was illuminating the whole room.
- That city of our brains illuminated, it's going like crazy.
- It says soft focus perfects and illuminates for Dewey, flawless superstar youth glow.
Examples
-
The streetlights will illuminate the road, making it safer for drivers at night.
-
In the vast desert night, a single floodlight illuminates Jim and Megan's partially finished house.
Fiction book (1990) -
So access to energy, meaning how easily can I go illuminate my room?
-
You shine your light on a screen, and you illuminate the screen.
-
In an evacuation, exit path lights will automatically illuminate to guide you to an exit.
-
The experiment was conducted in a dimly illuminated room in each participant's school.
Academic text (2013) -
There was a single light bulb that illuminated his little shed, hanging by a wire.
-
As the nebular gas reaches the Earth, the sky will be illuminated by an ionized nebula.
Academic text (1996) -
She used a flashlight to illuminate the dark corners of the attic.
-
The artist placed candles around the room to illuminate the artwork on display.
Synonyms
829
1.0
To make something start to burn or shine
201
2.5
Begin to shine or make something begin to shine, for example by burning
85
1.0
To point a light at something so you can see it
11
2.3
To make a place or color look brighter
4
3.3
To make a room or object look brighter and more cheerful
2
4.1
Light that shines down from above, often from the sun
1
7.8
To shine light on something to make it visible
1
4.5
To shine light behind a person or object to make them stand out
1
8.1
To light something or make it easier to understand
1
3.3
To shine a strong light on a person or object on stage
1
3.6
Shine a strong focused light on a person or thing
1
9.9
To light up a place or thing
1
9.9
To make something shine with soft light
1
3.8
To light a large area with very bright lights, for example at a stadium
1
6.5
To direct light upward to make a wall or object stand out
Antonyms
Phrasal Verbs
How Bright
1
4.1
53
4.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
illuminate = il + lumin + ate
This sense ('to light up') follows the straightforward combination of the prefix + root meaning 'light' and the verb-forming suffix, so learners who know the components can readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Illuminate comes from the Latin parts in- 'into' and lumen 'light', the same root as luminous and luminary. So to illuminate a room is to 'bring light into' it and make things visible.