Age of Enlightenment
1
5.8
- noun
- /eɪdʒ əv ɪnˈlaɪtənmənt/
:
Edad de la Ilustración
- The students then encounter rights in the context of the Age of Enlightenment through a brief investigation of social contract theorists, including John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Thomas Jefferson.
Examples
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Although the Renaissance brought back to light the glory of Greek and Roman civilizations, it was not until the Age of Enlightenment that "antiquities" and "natural history" began to be described systematically by travelers and to receive the attention of some famous writers.
Academic text (1992) -
Our modern worldview is a result of the Age of Enlightenment, and most ethical insights were achieved against the fierce resistance of organized religion.
Blog text (14) -
I learned about the Age of Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution.
Blog text (22) -
I suggest that this next Age of Enlightenment will be one centered on energy this time instead of art.
Blog text (4) -
How do we bring back the Age of Enlightenment that inevitably follows when the masses have had enough of fear?
Blog text (4) -
The idea of progress is a humanistic concept of the Western Age of Enlightenment and may be seen as universal.
Academic text (2004) -
Keefe's efforts provide fresh insights into these pieces as significant expressions of the Age of Enlightenment.
Academic text (2002) -
Modern analyses of governance date from the seventeenth-century Germanic tradition of politikwissenschaft (political science) and the eighteenth-century innovations of the European Age of Enlightenment.
Academic text (1992) -
The Age of Enlightenment was a pivotal time in Europe that promoted reason and individual rights.
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Many philosophers emerged during the Age of Enlightenment, such as Voltaire and Rousseau, advocating for freedoms and education.
Synonyms
34
6.3
A European movement in the late 1600s and 1700s that values reason and questions old beliefs
3
6.3
A period in Europe when people valued reason, science, and personal freedom more than old traditions
A movement that values reason and science over religion
Surface Forms
Morphology
age + of + Enlightenment
The phrase simply names a historical period characterized by the Enlightenment: combining 'age' (a period in history) with 'Enlightenment' (an intellectual movement) yields the meaning directly. The 'age of X' compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should be able to infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Age of Enlightenment uses the image of light to describe a time of new thinking: the word Enlightenment suggests 'bringing light' to dark old beliefs. That's why the phrase means 'a period when reason and new ideas helped people question kings, the church, and old rules'.