Synonyms for enlighten
Synonyms by meaning
Verb
1. Edify — to make something clear to (someone); to give knowledge or understanding to
edify, inform, educate, explain, apprise, clarify, teach, advise, instruct, notify, acquaint
2. Illuminate — to supply with light
illuminate, illumine, light up, irradiate formal, lighten, light, cast light on, bright, brighten, illustrate dated, illume formal dated
3. Elucidate
elucidate, clear up, straighten out, sort out, clear, crystallize, crystalize US, crystallise UK, crystalise
Definitions
- v. 1
To supply with light.
The sun enlightens the Earth.
- v. 2
To make something clear to (someone); to give knowledge or understanding to.
Care to enlighten me, if you think I'm so benighted?
Related words
- Word family
- enlightenment
- Other spellings
- inlighten
Forms
- Past participle
- enlightened
e.g. enlightened → edified, informed, educated, explained…
Example sentences
- explain Explain to him the difficult situation you are in.
- inform Please inform me what options are available to me.
- educate Both parents and teachers educate their children.
- edify Good books can edify the mind as well as entertain it.
- illuminate The sun started to come out and illuminate the sky.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| enlighten | steady | |
| explain | rising | |
| inform | steady | |
| educate | rising | |
| edify | rising | |
| illuminate | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- light1, clear1, teach1, edify3
- 6 letters
- bright1, inform2, advise2, notify3, uplift2, illume
- 7 letters
- explain2, educate3, clarify3, lighten2, apprise2
- 8 letters
- instruct2, brighten2, acquaint2, civilize3, disabuse3, illumine, civilise
- 9 letters
- elucidate4, irradiate4
- 10 letters
- illustrate3, illuminate4, crystalize, crystalise
- 11 letters
- crystallize3, crystallise
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (edify3 = 3 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- éclairer
- Italiano
- illuminare
- Español
- iluminar
- Deutsch
- erleuchten
- Català
- il·luminar