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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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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

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

I have read your letters to poor Lucy, and know how good you are and how your husband suffer; so I pray you, if it may be, enlighten him not, lest it may harm.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

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

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

The deeply felt elegance of Dandridge’s rendition of “Send in the Clowns” enlightens, even if belatedly, Hayden’s Fredrik, who grows in gravitas and, therefore, appeal.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 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

I will read further, searching until I find an explanation that enlightens me.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

Or should the seemingly enlightened Norwegians be more understanding?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Phenomenal amounts of self-righteous bloviating about enlightened or benighted child-feeding have gone on for centuries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 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

Historically, hoping that an absolute power will benevolently provide for humanity if sufficiently enlightened hasn’t led to safe or positive outcomes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

With the meaning of awareness, it became beodan in Old English, meaning “bode,” and bodhati in Sanskrit, meaning he awakes, is enlightened, and thus Bodhisattva, and Buddha.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

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

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

During his voyage around the world, his encounters with natives had been startling and enlightening.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman


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