Enlighten Meaning
/ɪnˈlaɪtən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo supply with light.
verbTo make something clear to (someone); to give knowledge or understanding to.
Sentence Examples
Woe to those who presume that they are destined to ‘enlighten’ others, not themselves!
Maybe you could enlighten me.
The ray of wisdom must enlighten new horizons.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The scientist hoped to ____ the public about the dangers of pollution.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The professor hoped to ____ the students about the complex historical event.
Word Origin & History
Formerly also inlighten, from Middle English enlightenen, inlightnen, a hybrid formed from inlighten (“to enlighten, illuminate”), from Old English inlīhtan, onlīhtan, enlīhtan (“to enlighten, illuminate, give light to, give sight to”) and lightnen (“to enlighten, illuminate”) (equivalent to light + -en). Cognate with Dutch inlichten (“to enlighten, inform”), Old High German inliuhten (“to enlighten, illuminate”), Gothic 𐌹𐌽𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌷𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 (inliuhtjan, “to enlighten, illuminate”). More at inlight, -en.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"There was a warning sulkiness in the manner of this speech, which admonished Mr Pecksniff that his dear friend was not to be trifled with or fenced off, and that he must either return a straight–forward reply to his question, or plainly give him to understand that he declined to enlighten him upon the subject to which it referred."
— 1844, Charles Dickens, chapter 20, in Martin Chuzzlewit:
"As your reviewer showed, the purpose of the translator and publishers is to help along the labor movement by furnishing a lesson from the past to enlighten the movement of to-day."
— 1904 August 27, John Hossack, “The Mysteries of the People”, in New York Times:
"I'm in jail for what I hope will be a short stay and really quite lonely. If there are any who would care to correspond, I will be greatly pleased and will try to enlighten any and all to the hardships we have in prison."
— 1976 August 21, Donald Dougherty, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 8, page 13:
"Rather than focus on true-to-life drama that might have enlightened viewers, the BBC, frightened by Tory politicians’ threats to its very existence, concentrated its dramatic output on inaccurate historical soap operas, that falsified the view of our past."
— 2016 October 30, Bernie Evans, “The big issue: where the true blame lies for our dangerous politics of hate”, in The Guardian:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The scientist hoped to ____ the public about the dangers of pollution.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The professor hoped to ____ the students about the complex historical event.