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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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
"I think in the spirit of the bikers, Dave would want me to continue to have fun and to educate, to inform, to enlighten, to be slightly edgy," he says.
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2024
“I believe Earlonne will continue to educate, enlighten and enrich the lives of his peers at San Quentin and the many, many people who listen faithfully to ‘Ear Hustle,’” Brown wrote in 2018.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2024
His black eyes say, Why don’t you enlighten me, Ed? so I do.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
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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 why “Catch the Fair One” ultimately disappoints more than it enlightens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2022
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
I will read further, searching until I find an explanation that enlightens me.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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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
When you see a really good player, that’s a rara avis — an enlightened individual.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
The Japanese prisoner-of-war camp is run by an enlightened colonel who insists on humane treatment and establishes educational programs, sports competitions and musical groups.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 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
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
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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
While Mr. Swaim’s interview is otherwise enlightening, a few aspects of Eastern Orthodoxy require clarification.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 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
“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
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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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