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Definitions

enlighten

[en-lahyt-n] / ɛnˈlaɪt n /


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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When you get a varied body of work, it can enlighten your own life in a way, and that’s a great feeling.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 17, 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

And I’ll just pray to the gods of the arts to enlighten me.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 22, 2024

Because I break bread with and claim to be part of this marked construct, this otherness, complete with jail time within the carceral state, allow me to enlighten you.

From Salon Jan. 1, 2024

Was it not their duty to enlighten others?

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

This is her place to retreat inward with her sheep to create prose that enlightens us and products that feed us.

From Seattle Times Jun. 16, 2023

Patrick Carone, a former editor at Abercrombie’s quarterly magazine, enlightens viewers on the concept of a mall: “Imagine, like, a search engine that you could walk through.”

From New York Times Apr. 18, 2022

What it shows us, what it leaves out and which important opportunities it misses are more concerning, all of which are why this hour disappoints more than it enlightens or activate the viewer.

From Salon Nov. 21, 2021

Must-see TV: When They See Us, Ava DuVernay’s miniseries about the lives at the heart of the Central Park Five, informs and enlightens audiences—but as Willa Paskin reviews, entertainment is not its core purpose.

From Slate May 30, 2019

“You are like he was,” Keith enlightens me, “and just like him, you were most likely to die the same way—a quarter of what you could have been....”

From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak

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

“Are our moneyed men less enlightened to their own interest, or less enterprising in the pursuit?,” the future Treasury secretary wrote External link in 1780.

From Barron's Jun. 17, 2026

Many of the problems we face are self-inflicted, and they are fixable with proper allocation of resources, and enlightened and accountable leadership.

From MarketWatch Mar. 10, 2026

Yes, the founders, for men of their era, were enlightened.

From Salon Mar. 8, 2026

Blanca smiled an enlightened smile as tears poured down her face.

From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez

"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

Alexander said: "It was the single most enlightening conversation I've had in the last month on trade so I see why you hold him in such high regard."

From BBC Jun. 3, 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

Rovere, on the other hand, found the book to be “barren of ideas and imagination,” and “scarcely more interesting or enlightening than the day-by-day newspaper accounts.”

From Salon Mar. 7, 2026

“Isn’t there anything else more enlightening we could watch? Is there anything on PBS? Any documentaries?”

From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez




Vocabulary lists containing enlighten


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