ILLUMINING Synonyms: 73 Similar and Opposite Words

illumining

verb

present participle of illumine

as in illuminating

to supply with light small table lamps illumine the inn's dining room in a most romantic way

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in educating

to provide (someone) with moral or spiritual understanding readers of great literature are both entertained and illumined

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for illumining

Verb

Adding dyes and microparticles to the water and illuminating them with lasers helped capture the flows on high-speed video.

— Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 13 July 2026
Top Gear's Jack Rix has actually had a gander at the Torcal, and described it as having a large grille with illuminating 3D diamonds for serious bling.

— Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 8 July 2026

Definition of illuminating

Verb

This story was published in partnership with The War Horse, an award-winning nonprofit news organization educating the public on military service and veterans.

— Sonner Kehrt, Sacbee.com, 9 July 2026
The light-bodied black lager was named in honor of the International Dark Sky Association, which works to combat light pollution by educating people on responsible lighting practices.

— Jill Robbins, Southern Living, 9 July 2026

Definition of educating

Verb

The house put the family and its guests not only in direct contact with the awe-inspiring waterfall beneath it but also with the geological feature’s humidity, causing mildew growth that needed mitigation.

— Elizabeth Fazzare, Architectural Digest, 14 July 2026
The goal of the project is to spur civic engagement and foster connection between Los Gatans by inspiring them to reflect on the rights enshrined in the Constitution.

— Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 14 July 2026

Definition of inspiring

Verb

Air molecules reflect and scatter light beyond an immediate beam, which is why the sky starts brightening at dawn even before the sun climbs above the horizon.

— Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 14 July 2026
Detroit has also allowed a league-high 153 points through three weeks, further brightening Crawford’s outlook.

— Juan Carlos Blanco, Forbes.com, 12 July 2026

Definition of brightening

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

illuming

illumining

ill-usage

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Illumining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illumining. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of illumining

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

dog days

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Games & Quizzes