to illumine

Examples

• All

• The light of the gracious moon illumined my path.

  The Ambushers (1967)

• Reading the explanation in the textbook helped to illumine the complex concept of atmospheric pressure.

• " Welcome, good mistress, and the light illumine your way."

  Fiction book (1991)

• The light illumine you, and see you safe to your journey's end.

  Fiction book (1992)

• The Light illumines you and your vessel, and sends the winds to speed you.

  Fiction book (1992)

• Furthermore, Anselm's whole methodology is a brilliant experiment in the use of human reason illumined by faith.

  Academic text (1992)

• Lindbeck uses Kuhn's description of normal science to illumine the role of doctrines in churches.

  Academic text (1991)

• With each puff, their faces were illumined by a reddish glow.

  Fiction book (1993)

• If so, let me add another: one of poetry's chief aims is to illumine the walls of mystery, the inscrutable, the unsayable.

  Academic text (2007)

• He has masterfully illumined the works of Dutch masters.

  Harvard University

Synonyms

L

to light

vsto illumine

905 1.0

To make something start to burn or shine

is broader, including both physical lighting and making ideas clearer

L

to light up

vsto illumine

64 2.5

Begin to shine or make something begin to shine, for example by burning

also covers explaining something to make it easier to understand

E

to enlighten

vsto illumine

55 4.8

To give someone clear information to help them understand something

can act on objects or ideas rather than only on a person's knowledge

I

to illuminate

vsto illumine

52 4.1

To make something bright or visible with light

adds the idea of making things easier to understand as well

S

to shed light

vsto illumine

30 3.7

Make a fact or situation easier to understand

can also mean adding actual light, not only giving information

S

to shed light on

vsto illumine

26 3.9

To help people understand something by explaining it

also applies to physical lighting, not just explanation

S

to shine light on

vsto illumine

• Literature

26 3.9

To show information people do not know

is broader, including physical illumination as well as revealing facts

L

to lighten

vsto illumine

16 2.3

To make a place or color look brighter

is wider, also meaning to explain or clarify ideas

L

to lighten up

vsto illumine

6 3.3

To make a room or object look brighter and more cheerful

focuses more generally on light or explanation rather than decor

I

to illume

vsto illumine

• Literature

1 9.9

To light up a place or thing

also covers making ideas clearer, not only adding physical light

L

to lumine

vsto illumine

• Archaic

9.9

To make something shine with soft light

uses neutral language and includes both physical and metaphorical lighting

Antonyms

O

to obscure

86 7.0

Make something hard to see or understand

How Clear

to elucidate

• Formal

11 6.8

to illumine

1 8.1

to explain

∞ 1.0

to blur

61 3.6

Surface Forms

Etymology