illuminate
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To clarify or make something understandable.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihloomihnitSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪˈlumɪnɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitivefigurative
To clarify or make something understandable.
transitive
To shine light on something.
intransitive
To glow; to light up.
intransitive
To be exposed to light.
transitive
To decorate something with lights.
Make lighter or brighter
noun
Someone thought to have an unusual degree of enlightenment.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To clarify or make something understandable.
Used this way, illuminate is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- illumine , more formal, and heavier in everyday conversation
- light , a specialist term, precise but narrower
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
To make (something) clear and understandable.
To make something form into crystals.
To make happy.
To make straight.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Tending to increase knowledge or dissipate ignorance.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.