the Enlightenment
noun
: a movement of the 18th century that stressed the belief that science and logic give people more knowledge and understanding than tradition and religion
Examples of the Enlightenment in a Sentence
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Post-liberal Catholic thinkers, such as Patrick Deneen of Notre Dame and Adrian Vermeule of Harvard, believe that the liberalism of the Enlightenment has led to civilizational collapse, and only the restoration of the beloved community under Christian governance can save the West.
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George Packer, The Atlantic, 24 Nov. 2025
That foundation began to slowly crumble with the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, but kept drawing on these eternal truths.
—Arianna Huffington, Time, 23 Nov. 2025
That old story survived the reevaluation of war that took place during the Enlightenment; the transformation of the modern battlefield by mass mobilization and factory-scale killing in the twentieth century; and now, the separation between killer and target facilitated by technology.
—Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Even at the height of the Enlightenment in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, when waves took up much of the scientific discourse, the ocean always seemed to have the last word.
—Joseph Howlett, Quanta Magazine, 15 Oct. 2025
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George Packer, The Atlantic, 24 Nov. 2025
That foundation began to slowly crumble with the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, but kept drawing on these eternal truths.
—Arianna Huffington, Time, 23 Nov. 2025
That old story survived the reevaluation of war that took place during the Enlightenment; the transformation of the modern battlefield by mass mobilization and factory-scale killing in the twentieth century; and now, the separation between killer and target facilitated by technology.
—Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Even at the height of the Enlightenment in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, when waves took up much of the scientific discourse, the ocean always seemed to have the last word.
—Joseph Howlett, Quanta Magazine, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for the Enlightenment
Cite this Entry
“The Enlightenment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20Enlightenment. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025.
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