[en-lahyt-n-muh
nt] 
| 1. | the act of enlightening. |
| 2. | the state of being enlightened: to live in spiritual enlightenment. |
| 3. | (usually initial capital letter) Buddhism, Hinduism. prajna. |
| 4. | the Enlightenment, a philosophical movement of the 18th century, characterized by belief in the power of human reason and by innovations in political, religious, and educational doctrine. |
An intellectual movement of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries marked by a celebration of the powers of human reason, a keen interest in science, the promotion of religious toleration, and a desire to construct governments free of tyranny. Some of the major figures of the Enlightenment were David Hume, Immanuel Kant, John Locke, the Baron de Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Voltaire.