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illumination
[ ih-loo-muh-ney-shuhn ]
noun
- an act or instance of illuminating. illuminating.
- the fact or condition of being illuminated.
- a decoration of lights, usually colored lights.
- Sometimes illuminations. an entertainment, display, or celebration using lights as a major feature or decoration.
- intellectual or spiritual enlightenment.
Synonyms: wisdom, insight, revelation, knowledge
- Also called illuminance, Optics. the intensity of light falling at a given place on a lighted surface; the luminous flux incident per unit area, expressed in lumens per unit of area.
- a supply of light:
a source of illumination.
- decoration of a manuscript or book with a painted design in color, gold, etc.
- a design used in such decoration.
illumination
/ ɪˌluːmɪˈneɪʃən /
noun
- the act of illuminating or the state of being illuminated
- a source of light
- often plural a light or lights, esp coloured lights, used as decoration in streets, parks, etc
- spiritual or intellectual enlightenment; insight or understanding
- the act of making understood; clarification
- decoration in colours, gold, or silver used on some manuscripts or printed works
- See illuminancephysics another name (not in technical usage) for illuminance
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Derived Forms
- ilˌlumiˈnational, adjective
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Other Words From
- il·lumi·nation·al adjective
- nonil·lumi·nation noun
- preil·lumi·nation noun
- reil·lumi·nation noun
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Word History and Origins
Origin of illumination1
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Example Sentences
The book is fascinating partly for its illumination of the origins of current conventions.
Rather than selective filtering for purposes of justification, information is instead used as the fuel for illumination.
An affair that blossoms in his 40s and is quickly squelched by a departmental rival serves as his single true illumination.
No matter the situation, the knowledge of handlers and the experts pales in comparison to her inner illumination.
Consider the opening of the first illumination, “After the Flood:”
The occupants of the room had been too absorbed with their own affairs to notice the gradual dimming of the illumination.
An illumination broke over his whole face when he saw her and joined her under the orange tree.
The intricate perforations of the lamp were inset with colored glass, and the result was a subdued and warm illumination.
The iris of the human eye dilates and contracts with every shift of illumination, and the Time Observatory had an iris too.
Nothing can be more beautiful of the kind than such an illumination seen from the ship.
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