illumine
verb
Simple meaning
To cause to glow or shine with light.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihloomuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪˈlumən
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
transitiveliteraryalso figurative
To cause (something) to glow or shine with light.
transitiveliteraryfigurative
To cause (the eyes) to see.
transitiveliteraryfigurative
To cause (a person or their face) to show enlightenment, happiness, etc.
transitiveliteraryfigurative
(rare) To enlighten (someone) intellectually.
intransitive
To become bright; to light up.
transitiveliteraryfigurative
(art) To decorate (a page of a manuscript book) with ornamental designs.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Typical Use
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (also figurative) To cause (something) to glow or shine with light.
Used this way, illumine is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in literature or storytelling contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Formal
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Literary and expressive
Where it naturally appears
- Literature/storytelling
Usage note
Comfortable in writing and prepared speech; in casual conversation a shorter everyday word usually sounds more natural.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A condition of spiritual awareness.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to cause (something) to glow or shine with light
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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.