1
as in to illuminate
to supply with light
small table lamps illumine the inn's dining room in a most romantic way
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to educate
to provide (someone) with moral or spiritual understanding
readers of great literature are both entertained and illumined
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illumine
The lighting illumines each river in brilliantly bright backdrop colors.
—
Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2025
The bar was illumined by candles and an uplit line of mostly esoteric liquors along the full-length mirror against the back wall.
—Lauren Groff, The Atlantic, 28 Sep. 2024
In a room illumined by the light of a few candles, a group of women with veils over their faces conducts a séance.
—Rhoda Feng, ARTnews.com, 9 Aug. 2024
First a dazzling light show that illumined the arena in a constellation of purple.
—NBC News, 5 Aug. 2024
Hung’s defense of artistic passion starts with the human touch, then illumines our basic needs and spiritual appetite.
—Armond White, National Review, 9 Feb. 2024
The papaya-pulp glow of sodium lights on a remote station’s platform revealed the denizens of the wayside: disused open-top hoppers, empty coil cars, corroded gondolas, a modest village in the distance illumined by weak-yellow streetlamps.
—Mark Orwoll, Travel + Leisure, 18 July 2023
There was in the Registry, besides, her portrait, painted by an artist of the time in the conventional style of the time: haloed, illumined, awestruck eyes fixed upward to the heavens.
—Cynthia Ozick, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023
The non-narrative videos, which may well come to be regarded as the Sistine Chapel of video art, projected onto epic screens above the orchestra and singers, serve not to illumine Wagner’s drama but his intent.
—Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2022
Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2025
The bar was illumined by candles and an uplit line of mostly esoteric liquors along the full-length mirror against the back wall.
—Lauren Groff, The Atlantic, 28 Sep. 2024
In a room illumined by the light of a few candles, a group of women with veils over their faces conducts a séance.
—Rhoda Feng, ARTnews.com, 9 Aug. 2024
First a dazzling light show that illumined the arena in a constellation of purple.
—NBC News, 5 Aug. 2024
Hung’s defense of artistic passion starts with the human touch, then illumines our basic needs and spiritual appetite.
—Armond White, National Review, 9 Feb. 2024
The papaya-pulp glow of sodium lights on a remote station’s platform revealed the denizens of the wayside: disused open-top hoppers, empty coil cars, corroded gondolas, a modest village in the distance illumined by weak-yellow streetlamps.
—Mark Orwoll, Travel + Leisure, 18 July 2023
There was in the Registry, besides, her portrait, painted by an artist of the time in the conventional style of the time: haloed, illumined, awestruck eyes fixed upward to the heavens.
—Cynthia Ozick, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023
The non-narrative videos, which may well come to be regarded as the Sistine Chapel of video art, projected onto epic screens above the orchestra and singers, serve not to illumine Wagner’s drama but his intent.
—Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illumine
Verb
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As the sun sets this evening (Feb. 9), the moon will be shining brightly in the east, 93% illuminated in its waxing gibbous phase, just three days before February's full Snow Moon.—
Brett Tingley,
Space.com,
9 Feb. 2025
-
Countless tools, potsherds, and other relics line museum shelves, illuminating the world of our ancestors.—
Cody Cottier,
Discover Magazine,
7 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Danica McKellar is aiming to educate and entertain young readers in a new kids book.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
People.com,
10 Feb. 2025
-
Since before Trump was inaugurated Jan. 20, immigrant advocacy groups in Chicago have been trying to educate community members on their rights, for example that constitutional protections against self-incrimination apply to all people on U.S. soil, including undocumented immigrants.—
Peter Breen,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The clip then cuts to Millington sitting quietly at home in a robe, repeatedly lighting a candle that her smiling son keeps blowing out for his own amusement.—
Kristan Hawkins,
Newsweek,
7 Feb. 2025
-
In a black turtleneck and thick black spectacles, actor Chris Pratt ponders the walls of a gallery, where a banana has been duct taped and lit dramatically by an elegant square of light.—
Daniel Cassady,
ARTnews.com,
7 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The 2022 law, which created the Connecticut Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee, was inspired by model legislation offered up by President Joe Biden’s administration and was meant to ensure that the settlement funds were put to use counteracting the deadly effects of the opioid epidemic.—
Laura Tillman,
Hartford Courant,
8 Feb. 2025
-
The spy thriller series is inspired by a real-life undercover operation that enlists female operatives known as Lionesses.—
Catherine Santino,
People.com,
8 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Or brighten up your campsite with Asmad Solar Garden Lights, currently 41 percent off.—
Rosie Marder,
Travel + Leisure,
16 Feb. 2025
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In 1912, Albert Einstein posited that when a foreground star drifts in front of a background star, the background star should briefly brighten, as the gravity of the one in front distorts and magnifies its light.—
Jeffrey Kluger/Greenbelt,
TIME,
8 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near illumine
Cite this Entry
“Illumine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illumine. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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