illume

verb

i-ˈlüm How to pronounce illume (audio)
Definition of illumenext
1
as in to educate
to provide (someone) with moral or spiritual understanding a favorite line of an Eastern Church hymn reads, "through fast-closed doors Thou camest Thy Disciples to illume"

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to illumine
to supply with light during the vigil service the church's Gothic interior was illumed by the light of hundreds of tapers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for illume
  1. educate
  2. illumine
  3. inspire
  4. illuminate
  5. light
Verb
  • During the tasting experience, experts will educate attendees on the process and history behind each whiskey.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2026
  • As one of the world’s leading manta ray research organizations, The Manta Trust is dedicated to educating and conserving habitats for these majestic creatures.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of educate
Verb
  • Fantastic, illumined by periodic excursions into surrealism, as when the crew of a mysterious UFO boards a transpacific Kahuna Airlines jet midflight.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Geraldine walked over to Felix and Jane’s for fish soup, through long autumn shadows in the park, haze rising like smoke from the grass, illumined by the low sun.
    — Tessa Hadley, New Yorker, 25 Jan. 2026
Definition of illumine
Verb
  • Sima Sistani, who led WeightWatchers for close to three years before departing in 2024, is launching Liberation of Flowers, inspired by her Persian roots.
    — Kathryn Hopkins, Footwear News, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Eklipse is inspired by Wetscher’s experience when details of the death of his father from AIDS back in the 1990s were kept from him.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of inspire
Verb
  • During these windows, sunlight illuminates the rocket's expanding exhaust plume while the sky itself remains mostly dark.
    — Mike Wall, Space.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • As a result, most of the Sturgeon Moon could deepen into muted shades of copper, rust and brown, while a slim silver edge remains illuminated by direct sunlight.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of illuminate
Verb
  • During the first hour, pine grove owners urged fire commanders to light a backfire a few hundred yards from Le Porge.
    — Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Down the hall, his girlfriend examines her birth chart, lights the palo santo and wonders whether Mercury is going to wreck her Tuesday.
    — Ryan Zickgraf, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of light
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

ill-treats
illume
illumed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Illume.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illume. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gumption

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All