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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illumine
Rev 21:10), an ark of salvation sailing through the waters of history and a beacon that illumines the dark nights of this world.
—
Daniel Burke, NPR, 9 May 2025
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
Daniel Burke, NPR, 9 May 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illumine
Verb
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However, the comet was considered to be too faint and poorly illuminated from Hera's location.—
Andrew Jones,
Space.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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These aren’t transactional breadcrumbs—they’re predictive signals that illuminate what’s next.—
Gary Drenik,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The game serves a dual purpose by educating users about the growing prevalence of synthetic media while providing valuable data to improve BitMind’s detection algorithms.—
Becca Bratcher,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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The school district, which educates about 23,000 students, is working toward making CPR a skill that every student learns at least once a year starting in fifth grade, said Superintendent Joe Harrington.—
Ciara McCarthy
September 9,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Another challenge was lighting, to shoot everything in a visually coherent and realistic manner amid all the smoke.—
Tomris Laffly,
Time,
6 Sep. 2025
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James appears to be walking toward the viewer with a burning flame lit behind him.—
Michael Nied,
PEOPLE,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Zaldivar said in an age where more people are turning away from their faith, the declaration of the young saints is inspiring to many Catholics looking towards the future of the church.—
Lauren Costantino
September 6,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
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Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies came extremely close to being as epic as Mom’s, which inspired me to dive deeper into the archives to see if Barefoot Contessa had any other brilliant brownie recipes.—
Karla Walsh,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This new visitor to the inner solar system is expected to brighten, perhaps becoming a fairly easy object to see in small telescopes or good binoculars.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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While the former depuffs and brightens the under-eye region on days when you’re deprived of zzzs, the latter takes advantage of orange peptides, pomegranate spheres, and hyaluronic acid to further smooth the skin.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Illumine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illumine. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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