Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Illuminate
Il-lu′mi-nate
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Illuminated
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Illuminating
.] 1.
To make light; to throw light on; to supply with light, literally or figuratively; to brighten.
2.
To light up; to decorate with artificial lights, as a building or city, in token of rejoicing or respect.
3.
To adorn, as a book or page with borders, initial letters, or miniature pictures in colors and gold, as was done in manuscripts of the Middle Ages.
4.
To make plain or clear; to dispel the obscurity to by knowledge or reason; to explain; to elucidate;
as, to
. illuminate
a text, a problem, or a dutyIl-lu′mi-nate
,Verb.
I.
To light up in token or rejoicing.
Il-lu′mi-nate
,Adj.
[L.
illuminatus
, p. p.] Enlightened.
Bp. Hall.
Il-lu′mi-nate
,Noun.
One who is enlightened; esp., a pretender to extraordinary light and knowledge.
2.
Adorned with pictorial or graphical designs, as a book or page with borders, initial letters, or miniature pictures in colors and gold, as was done in manuscripts of the Middle Ages;
as, an
. illuminated
manuscriptWebster 1828 Edition
Illuminate
ILLU'MINATE
,Verb.
T.
1.
To adorn with festal lamps or bonfires.2.
To enlighten intellectually with knowledge or grace. Heb.10.3.
To adorn with pictures, portraits and other paintings; as, to illuminate manuscripts or books, according to ancient practice.4.
To illustrate; to throw light on, as on obscure subjects.ILLU'MINATE
,Adj.
ILLU'MINATE
,Noun.
Definition 2024
illuminate
illuminate
English
Verb
illuminate (third-person singular simple present illuminates, present participle illuminating, simple past and past participle illuminated)
- (transitive) To shine light on something.
- (transitive) To decorate something with lights.
- (transitive) To clarify or make something understandable.
- (transitive) To decorate the page of a manuscript book with ornamental designs.
- (transitive, figuratively) To make spectacular.
- (intransitive) To glow; to light up.
- 1994, Sylvia Carlson, Verne Carlson, Professional Cameraman's Handbook (ISBN 024080080X), 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 / […]
- 1994, Sylvia Carlson, Verne Carlson, Professional Cameraman's Handbook (ISBN 024080080X), page 494:
- (intransitive) To be exposed to light.
- (transitive, military) To direct a radar beam toward.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
to shine light on something
|
to decorate something with lights
to clarify or make something understandable
|
|
to decorate the page of a manuscript book with ornamental designs
Noun
illuminate (plural illuminates)
- Someone thought to have an unusual degree of enlightenment.
Adjective
illuminate (comparative more illuminate, superlative most illuminate)
- (obsolete) enlightened
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Bishop Hall to this entry?)
Italian
Adjective
illuminate f pl
- feminine plural of illuminato
Verb
illuminate
- second-person plural present of illuminare
- second-person plural imperative of illuminare
- feminine plural past participle of illuminare
Anagrams
Latin
Participle
illūmināte
- vocative masculine singular of illūminātus
References
- illuminate in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- Félix Gaffiot (1934), “illuminate”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.