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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A director who loves our country and wants to enlighten us with consequential historical exhibits would be a better fit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
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
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
“I have committed my life to initiatives related to Stanley’s life and death that can enlighten and support others and save lives,” Lucas said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2025
“There is much you do not know. Things best not discussed here, where anyone can hear. If-you hold your tongue, I may enlighten you.”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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He thought about the country’s anger, prejudice and the way the news batters more than enlightens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2023
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
“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
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It doesn’t matter how enlightened the people are.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
In some caves where enlightened paradise is depicted, it’s utopic: singers and dancers prancing in revelry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 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
“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
What I had read in the tennis magazines simply confounded rather than enlightened me.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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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
But the Glass year is already officially underway with two curiously enlightening projects this month.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
The people who say it don’t understand how enlightening the observation is.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 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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