Meaning & use
enlightening
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Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Giving you a clearer understanding of something that was confusing or unknown.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: an enlightening talk, the talk was enlightening.
Patterns
- find something enlightening
- enlightening about something
The documentary was enlightening about how bread is made.
I found the interview enlightening because it showed his side of the story.
It was an enlightening conversation with someone who had lived there.
Word forms
| comparative | more enlightening |
|---|---|
| superlative | most enlightening |
Common combinations
- deeply enlightening
- The trip was deeply enlightening for the students.
- an enlightening experience
- Volunteering abroad was an enlightening experience.
- find it enlightening
- Many readers find it enlightening to see the early drafts.
- prove enlightening
- The audit may prove enlightening for the managers.
- an enlightening read
- The essay is short but an enlightening read.
Synonyms and how they differ
- illuminating
- Illuminating is almost the same but often hints at a sudden clear insight.
- informative
- Informative only means it gives facts, while enlightening suggests a change in how you see something.
- revealing
- Revealing stresses that hidden facts come out, sometimes about a person's character.
- instructive
- Instructive suggests a lesson to be learned, a bit more practical than enlightening.
Opposites
Word family
- enlighten verb
- to give someone greater understanding
- enlightenment noun
- understanding, or the 18th-century intellectual movement
- enlightened adjective
- well informed and free of prejudice
- unenlightening adjective
- not helping understanding
Commonly confused: enlightening or enlightened?
enlightening vs enlightened
Enlightened describes the person who understands; enlightening describes the thing that gives understanding.
Practice
The museum guide's talk was so ___ that I finally understood how the tools were used.
Choose one answer.
The talk causes understanding, so the adjective enlightening is right. Enlightened would describe a person who already understands.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “enlightening”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.