illumination

1 a statement that makes something clear the candidate's so-called illuminations of his views on a number of controversial issues left many voters in the dark Synonyms clarification, construction, elucidation, exegesis, explication, exposition, explanation, illustration, interpretation, road mapRelated Words paraphrase, restatement, translation; annotation, comment, commentary, epexegesis, gloss; deciphering, decoding; disentanglement, unscrambling; analysis; edification, enlightenment; definition, meaning; demonstration, enactment; justification, rationale, rationalization, reasoning; caution, caveat, warning

2 the quality or state of having or giving off light in that clime the illumination of the full moon is such as you can practically read by it Synonyms brightness, brilliancy, candor, dazzle, effulgence, brilliance, lambency, lightness, luminance, luminosity, luminousness, luster (or lustre), lustrousness, radiance, refulgence, splendorRelated Words blaze, flare, flash, flicker, light; fluorescence, incandescence, luminescence; burnish, gloss, polish, sheen, shine, shininess; fire, flame, glare, glow; flash, gleam, glimmer, glint, glisten, glitter, scintillation, shimmer, sparkle, twinkleNear Antonyms dimness, gloominess, somberness; cloudiness, haziness, murkiness, obscureness, obscurity; colorlessness, grayness, lackluster, paleness, shadiness, shadowinessAntonyms blackness, dark, darkness, dullness (also dulness), duskiness

3 the steady giving off of the form of radiation that makes vision possible a steady illumination from the flashlight was all I had while changing the tire Synonyms blaze, flare, fluorescence, glare, gleam, glow, light, incandescence, luminescence, radiance, shineRelated Words flash, glimmer, glint, glitter, scintillation, shimmer, sparkle, twinkle; daylight, moonlight, sunlight, sunshine; afterglow, aureole (or aureola), aurora, beam, halo, ray, shaft, streak, stream, sunbeam; glisten, gloss, luster (or lustre), polish, reflection, sheenNear Antonyms blackness, dark, darkness, dimness, dusk, duskiness, gloom, night, shadow