Enlighten
[ɪn'laɪt(ə)n;en-] or [ɪn'laɪtn]
Definition
(verb.) give spiritual insight to; in religion.
(verb.) make understand; 'Can you enlighten me--I don't understand this proposal'.
Checker: Seymour--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To supply with light; to illuminate; as, the sun enlightens the earth.
(v. t.) To make clear to the intellect or conscience; to shed the light of truth and knowledge upon; to furnish with increase of knowledge; to instruct; as, to enlighten the mind or understanding.
Inputed by Hannibal
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Illuminate, illume, illumine, irradiate, make light, make luminous, supply with light.[2]. Instruct, inform, teach.
Checked by Amy
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Illumine, edify, instruct, illuminate, inform, teach
ANT:Mislead, darken, confound, obscure, mystify, perplex
Inputed by Artie
Definition
v.t. to lighten or shed light on: to make clear to the mind: to impart knowledge to: to elevate by knowledge or religion—(obs.) Enlight′.—n. Enlight′enment act of enlightening: state of being enlightened: the spirit of the French philosophers of the 18th century.
Typist: Wilhelmina
Examples
- Not another word had I heard to enlighten me on the subject of my expectations, and my twenty-third birthday was a week gone. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- A longing to enlighten her was strong in him; and there were moments when he imagined that all she asked was to be enlightened. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- I wish you to understand that I shall not say anything to enlighten Mr. Casaubon himself. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- And my right to make that is simply the universal right of a man to enlighten a woman when he sees her unconsciously placed in a false position. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- Hadn't you better see, says Mr. Tulkinghorn to Krook, whether he had any papers that may enlighten you? Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Margaret listened in horror; and endeavoured in vain to enlighten the woman's mind; but she was obliged to give it up in despair. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- He reserved his observations for those cases which science could enlighten and common sense approve. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- I did not, of course, know the reason for which we had come to the open, but I was not long in being enlightened. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- I little expected in this enlightened and scientific age to find a disciple of Albertus Magnus and Paracelsus. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- Some fanatics among them, to be sure, held that one book, the Koran, was of itself sufficient to insure the well-being of the whole human race, but happily a more enlightened view prevailed. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Leave being signified by a gesture, Shirley was presently enlightened on what had happened in her absence. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Especially to gentlemen, added May, with a look which enlightened Amy as to one cause of her sudden fall from favor. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Mr. Kenge, said Allan, appearing enlightened all in a moment. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- And yet its arches, its columns, and its statues proclaim it to have been built by an enlightened race. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- She has no suspicion of it, and after what has happened, I shall not take the responsibility upon myself of enlightening her. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- He proved to be as incapable of enlightening me as Mrs. Merridew herself. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- If it enlightens me at all on this question, I will impart unreservedly. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
Editor: Rudolf