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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He offers never-ending reruns of the same speech, and at this point it fails to entertain, enlighten or move anyone.
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 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
“The truth is, you are either here to enlighten or discourage.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2025
Was it not their duty to enlighten others?
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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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
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
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
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
“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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Or should the seemingly enlightened Norwegians be more understanding?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Long have well-meaning, enlightened Westerners assumed that the liberal values regnant in their democracies would arrest any attempt to revive antisemitism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 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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This columnist’s three years in the trenches were the toughest yet most enlightening three years of my career.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
His post-meeting press conference also was enlightening, even without “forward guidance” about Fed intentions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 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
If enlightening, it is called “having an epiphany.”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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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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