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Definitions

enlighten

[en-lahyt-n] / ɛnˈlaɪt n /


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

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

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 have committed my life to initiatives related to Stanley’s life and death that can enlighten and support others and save lives,” Lucas said.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2025

He said he would take it upon himself to enlighten each of them enough so that they wouldn’t allow themselves to be used.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

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

What it shows us, what it leaves out and which important opportunities it misses are more concerning, all of which are why this hour disappoints more than it enlightens or activate the viewer.

From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2021

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

“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

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

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

“Are our moneyed men less enlightened to their own interest, or less enterprising in the pursuit?,” the future Treasury secretary wrote External link in 1780.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

“All this time we’ve been using your first name as your surname and you never enlightened us. I guess because then we would’ve known who your daddy is?”

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

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

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

He argues, in this entertaining and enlightening book, that the spirit—the fire—that drove the Founding Fathers to risk everything to establish something very new has animated this country ever since.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 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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