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
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
"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
The next two trips to the conference room passed without incident, but the interviews continued to enlighten me.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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Unfortunately, however, the Netflix series obscures on this issue more than it enlightens.
From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2025
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
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
“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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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
When you see a really good player, that’s a rara avis — an enlightened individual.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 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
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
We watched like orphaned refugees while she plumped her jowls with food and enlightened us as to our shortcomings with regard to diet, equipment, and general manliness.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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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
Our critic said the show “stakes out enlightening new ground” in its exploration of “one of the most influential figures in modern art history.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 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
Seeing Mamá acting so coy and proper on the sofa next to Special Agent Gonzales had been enlightening to say the least.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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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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