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- pronunciation:
- ih
lu
m
neIt
- parts of speech:
- transitive verb, intransitive verb
- features:
- Word Combinations (verb), Word Explorer, Word Parts
| part of speech: |
transitive verb |
| inflections: |
illuminates, illuminating, illuminated |
| definition 1: |
to make bright with light; illumine.
Spotlights illuminated the stage.- synonyms:
- brighten, illumine, light
- antonyms:
- darken
- similar words:
- floodlight, irradiate, lighten, spotlight
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| definition 2: |
to make clear or easier to understand; explain.
The pictures in the book illuminate what is being said in the writing.- synonyms:
- clarify, elucidate, explicate, illustrate
- antonyms:
- confuse, darken, obscure
- similar words:
- account, explain, expose, get across, reveal, uncover
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| definition 3: |
to give knowledge to; enlighten.
News magazines nowadays entertain us as well as illuminate us with respect to events in the world.Will you illuminate us as to your intentions?- synonyms:
- edify, educate, enlighten, inform
- similar words:
- advise, awaken, elevate, enable, inspire, school, uplift
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| definition 4: |
to decorate (a letter, manuscript, or the like) with colored designs.
The monk illuminated the pages of the gospel with brilliant depictions of Biblical events.- similar words:
- decorate, embellish, emblazon, illustrate
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| related words: |
clarify, color, flash, story |
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| part of speech: |
intransitive verb |
| definition: |
to become illuminated.
- synonyms:
- brighten, illumine, light up
- antonyms:
- darken
- similar words:
- clear, incandesce, lighten, phosphoresce
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adverb + (v.)illuminate
above, barely, beautifully, briefly, brightly, brilliantly, dimly, eerily, faintly, fully, momentarily, mutually, overhead, softly, suddenly
(v.)illuminate
+ adverb
behind, below, within
(v.)illuminate
+ noun
aspect,
boundary,
chamber,
chandelier,
complexity,
contradiction,
darkness,
distinction,
face,
flame,
helicopter,
inside,
insight,
interior,
landscape,
manuscript,
meaning,
mystery,
nebula,
night,
object,
origin,
patch,
path,
room,
scene,
shadow,
significance,
sky,
staircase,
understanding,
verse
[See all][See only the most frequent]
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| derivations: |
illuminable (adj.), illuminative (adj.), illuminatingly (adv.), illuminator (n.) |
The word illuminate
contains the following parts:
il-1
Latin
prefix
that means in, into, on
  More about this word part:
The prefix il-1 occurs in Latin loanwords. It is an assimilated form of in-1 used before roots beginning with "l," such as "lum."
Example words:
luc, lum
Latin
root
that means light; shine
Example words:
elucidate, illuminate, lucid, lumen, luminance, luminary, luminescent, luminiferous, luminous, pellucid, translucent
- synonyms:
- phot, photo
-ate1
Latin
verb-forming suffix
that means to make, cause, do
More about this word part:
The suffix -ate
primarily forms transitive verbs from Latin bases. Many -ate
verbs were loanwords from Latin. Verbs ending in -ate
combine with the suffix -ion to form nouns ending in -ation. These verbs also have corresponding agent nouns ending in -ator (navigator, dictator, elevator).
Example words:
abbreviate, abdicate, abnegate, accelerate, accommodate, accumulate, activate, adequate, adjudicate, administrate, administrative, administrator, advocate, aerate, affiliate, agglomerate, agglutinate, aggravate, agitate, alienate, allocate, alternate, animate, annihilate, annotate, arrogate, aspirate, assimilate, associate, calibrate, capitulate, cerebrate, circulate, collaborate, collocate, commemorate, complicate, concentrate, congregate, consecrate, consummate, cooperate, coordinate, decapitate, decelerate, decerebrate, decimate, dedicate, dehydrate, deliberate, derogate, desecrate, dictate, disintegrate, dislocate, dissimulate, dissociate, divagate, domesticate, dominate, donate, duplicate, educate, elaborate, elevate, elongate, elucidate, emasculate, emigrate, enervate, enunciate, equate, equivocate, eradicate, evacuate, exasperate, exfoliate, expurgate, fluctuate, formulate, generate, gradate, graduate, gyrate, illuminate, illustrate, implicate, incorporate, indoctrinate, innovate, interpellate, interrogate, irradiate, irrigate, legislate, liberate, locate, mediate, motivate, narrate, navigate, negate, nominate, obliterate, operate, orate, originate, ovulate, palpate, participate, placate, populate, prognosticate, proliferate, radiate, regulate, resonate, rotate, segregate, simulate, subjugate, terminate, vacate, validate, contraindicate
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