1 illuminating | Definition of illuminating

illuminating

adjective
ilĀ·​luĀ·​miĀ·​natĀ·​ing | \ i-ˈlü-mə-ˌnā-tiŋ How to pronounce illuminating (audio) \

Definition of illuminating

: providing insight, clarity, or understanding : highly informative an illuminating remark/discussion … much of the information is quite illuminating …— Glenn Kenny

Keep scrolling for more

Other Words from illuminating

illuminatingly adverb

Examples of illuminating in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Wilder flurry pierced the mainstream in 2018, when Caroline Frasier’s exhaustive and illuminating biography Prairie Fires won the Pulitzer. Elena Nicolaou, refinery29.com, "Little House, Big Fans: These People Really, Really Love Laura Ingalls Wilder," 24 Aug. 2019 Ultimately, though, the diagnosis may be less illuminating: Graham was never the principled Republican the press made him out to be. Matt Ford, The New Republic, "The Banality of Lindsey Graham," 22 July 2019 What follows here is not as soppy as all that, but hopefully as helpful and illuminating. Sarah Menkedick, Longreads, "The First Book," 24 July 2019 One of the most fascinating and illuminating sections of this book covers the trade that opened up with Yupik and Chukchi peoples living in Kamchatka. David James, Anchorage Daily News, "In the early 20th century, Arctic fox fur was all the rage. The impact in Alaska was immense.," 20 July 2019 The scene offers a hilarious and illuminating breakdown of the nudes’ aesthetic. Matt Brennan, latimes.com, "That racy 'Euphoria' slide show: How the series got its hands on those nudes," 30 June 2019 The food itself is phenomenal—breads, salads, stews, curries, sticky-sweet desserts—but even more illuminating is Helou’s decision to include blocks of different recipes for a single dish. Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, "The Best Cookbooks of the Century So Far," 14 July 2019 In addition to mainstage programs, the calendar includes Carte Blanche Concerts, CafĆ© Conversations and the illuminating multimedia Encounter series. Georgia Rowe, The Mercury News, "Music@Menlo fest back with another dizzying, delicious lineup," 8 July 2019 When: October 16-20 and 23-27, 2019 Take in a truly illuminating event at the beautiful Chicago Botanic Garden as 1,000 elaborately carved jack o lanterns light the way. Jessica Leigh Mattern, Country Living, "24 Halloween Celebrations Across America to Spook Your Socks Off," 8 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'illuminating.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

See More

First Known Use of illuminating

1644, in the meaning defined above

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more