enlightened

ADJECTIVE

well-informed, tolerant of alternative views

Synonyms

STRONGEST

civilized knowledgeable literate open-minded reasonable sophisticated tolerant well-informed

STRONG

cultivated instructed learned liberal refined savvy sharp

WEAK

aware broad-minded forward-thinking hip to in the picture knowing what's what plugged in tuned-in wised up

Antonyms

STRONG

ignorant stupid

WEAK

confounded confused in the dark misled perplexed uneducated unenlightened uninformed

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.

While both statesmen were deists who believed in predestination and embraced the rational philosophy of the Enlightenment, they had different conceptions of what enlightened government meant.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

Many of the problems we face are self-inflicted, and they are fixable with proper allocation of resources, and enlightened and accountable leadership.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 10, 2026

Yes, the founders, for men of their era, were enlightened.

From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026

“I believe that it enlightened, lit a fire under the guys,” DiGiorgio said, “to be a little excited for this week.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 28, 2025

Chickenhound slurped and gulped greedily at the water as the Abbot enlightened him.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

Vocabulary lists containing enlightened

Matilda

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The Monroe Doctrine (1823)

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The Enlightenment

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