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illuminate . In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
illuminate , but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
illuminate in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
illuminate you have here. The definition of the word
illuminate will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
illuminate , as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From Middle English illuminaten , borrowed from Latin illūminātum , supine of illūminō ( “ lighten, light up, show off ” ) , from in + lūminō ( “ light up ” ) , from lūmen ( “ light ” ) . Cognate with Old English lȳman ( “ to glow, shine ” ) . More at leam .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /ɪˈl(j)umɪneɪt/ , /ɪˈl(j)uməneɪt/ ( verb )
( verb )
IPA (key ) : /ɪˈl(j)umɪnət/ ( noun, adjective )
Verb
illuminate (third-person singular simple present illuminates , present participle illuminating , simple past and past participle illuminated )
( transitive ) To shine light on something.
1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard , She: A History of Adventure , London: Longmans, Green, and Co. , published 1887 , →OCLC :Nero illuminated his gardens with live Christians soaked in tar, and we were now treated to a similar spectacle, probably for the first time since his day, only happily our lamps were not living ones.
2006 , Michael Grecco , Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait , Amphoto Books, →ISBN , page 40 :A light that is one foot away from the subject's face will completely illuminate the face, but leave the rest of the body softer and darker.
( transitive ) To decorate something with lights.
( transitive , figurative ) To clarify or make something understandable .
( transitive ) To decorate the page of a manuscript book with ornamental designs .
( transitive , figurative ) To make spectacular .
2012 June 2, Phil McNulty, “England 1-0 Belgium”, in BBC Sport :Hodgson's approach may not illuminate proceedings in Poland and Ukraine but early evidence suggests they will be tough to break down.
( intransitive ) To glow ; to light up .
1994 , Sylvia Carlson, Verne Carlson, Professional Cameraman's Handbook , →ISBN , page 494 :Red diode in button illuminates when camera runs at speed set in five-digit speed selector.
2011 /2012 , "Spectrum", written by Florence Welch and Paul Epworth, performed by Florence and the Machine , released on the album Ceremonials (2011):
Say my name / and every color illuminates. / We are shining /
( intransitive ) To be exposed to light.
( transitive , military ) To direct a radar beam toward.
Synonyms
( shine light on something ) : belight , enlighten , illumine ; See also Thesaurus:illuminate
( decorate something with lights ) : See also Thesaurus:decorate
( make something understandable ) : bring home , clarify , elucidate , explicitize , sort out , straighten out
( decorate the page of a manuscript book ) : illustrate , quill ; See also Thesaurus:decorate
( to glow; to light up ) : gleam , illumine , shine ; See also Thesaurus:shine
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
to shine light on something
Armenian: լուսավորել (hy) ( lusavorel )
Azerbaijani: işıqlandırmaq
Bulgarian: осветявам (bg) ( osvetjavam )
Catalan: il·luminar (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 照亮 (zh) ( zhàoliàng ) , 照明 (zh) ( zhàomíng )
Czech: osvětlit , osvětlovat (cs)
Dutch: belichten (nl)
Esperanto: ilumini
Estonian: valgustama
Finnish: valaista (fi)
French: illuminer (fr)
Galician: iluminar (gl) , alumear (gl)
German: beleuchten (de) , erhellen (de)
Greek:
Ancient: φωτίζω ( phōtízō )
Guaraní: hesape
Hungarian: megvilágít (hu)
Ido: lumizar (io)
Interlingua: illuminar
Italian: illuminare (it)
Japanese: 照らす (ja) ( てらす, terasu ) , 照明する (ja) ( しょうめいする, shōmei-suru )
Kazakh: жарықтандыру ( jaryqtandyru )
Latin: illuminare
Maori: tūrama
Mirandese: alhumbrar
Norman: illeuminner
Polish: iluminować , oświetlać (pl)
Portuguese: iluminar (pt)
Quechua: achikyay (qu)
Romanian: ilumina (ro) , lumina (ro)
Russian: освеща́ть (ru) impf ( osveščátʹ ) , освети́ть (ru) pf ( osvetítʹ )
Spanish: iluminar (es)
Tocharian A: luk-
Tocharian B: luk-
Ukrainian: осві́тлювати impf ( osvítljuvaty ) , освітли́ти pf ( osvitlýty )
to decorate something with lights
to clarify or make something understandable
to decorate the page of a manuscript book with ornamental designs
Translations to be checked
Noun
illuminate (plural illuminates )
Someone thought to have an unusual degree of enlightenment .
Adjective
illuminate (comparative more illuminate , superlative most illuminate )
( obsolete ) enlightened
February 28 1630 , Joseph Hall , The Hypocrite
do ye see an illuminate elder of the anabaptists rapt in divine ecstasies?
Interlingua
Participle
illuminate
past participle of illuminar
Italian
Adjective
illuminate f pl
feminine plural of illuminato
Verb
illuminate
inflection of illuminare :
second-person plural present indicative
second-person plural imperative
feminine plural past participle
Anagrams
Latin
Participle
illūmināte
vocative masculine singular of illūminātus
References