enlighten
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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Some of those eagerly sought to enlighten their charges, while a few others grew to see – or claimed to see – an unbridgeable chasm between the ivory tower and mass cultural aspiration.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2026
Its narrative offers few character sketches, jumps around in time and digresses into subjects that distract more than they enlighten.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
I can give Bill something that people don’t understand and progress the story and maybe enlighten people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2026
So can you enlighten us as to the great wisdom Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito share in their own concurrences?
From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2025
Looks seem rather important, as does the ability to enlighten, disappoint, and control great numbers of people who always seem to be American.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
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There's not a lot of focus on music that enlightens people, and that carries over to other products as well.
From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2023
But it thrives as an autonomous sphere, and as I age, it’s increasingly the one that succors, enlarges, and enlightens me most, when I have the energy and presence to bring to it.
From Slate ● Dec. 20, 2019
Poverty casts a dark shadow, while love enlightens the ambience.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 27, 2019
When she volunteers to attend what she thinks will be a placid demonstration against coal mining, another member enlightens her: “We don’t really do protests. … We do direct action.”
From New York Times ● May 16, 2019
I will read further, searching until I find an explanation that enlightens me.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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Or should the seemingly enlightened Norwegians be more understanding?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
It also revealed that I’ve been fibbing to myself: Much as I consider myself enlightened, being unmanly in an era that worships machismo does bug me a little.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
You know, if everybody has the same idea and the same belief, we’re never going to learn anything, we’re never going to be enlightened to anything beyond ourselves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
He’s on the board of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and received its David Rockefeller Award, given to an “individual from the business community who exemplifies enlightened generosity.”
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
“You had an opportunity to lead in an enlightened way,” she wrote to DAR President General Robert, “and it seems to me that your organization has failed.”
From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman
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Gomide&Co has staged an enlightening booth that expands diasporic scholarship by looking at Asian artists working in Latin America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Nevertheless, it’s an enlightening read in light of how dramatically war has changed in the last two-and-a-half centuries.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
"Together, these records offer a more complex and enlightening account of the Revolution, showing how its consequences were felt far beyond the Thirteen Colonies," Cunningham added.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
Grammy-winning pianist Robert Glasper’s live performance from 2010 is particularly enlightening: the audience becomes audibly excited the moment they recognize the song’s iconic piano hook, a scene that demonstrates “Sunshine’s” immortality.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
The walking tour guides one through the city's various landmarks, reciting bits of information the listener might find enlightening.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
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Vocabulary lists containing enlighten
"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 14–18
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Ronald Reagan, "Tear Down This Wall" (1987)
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The Titan's Curse
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