Link Centre Dictionary

enlighten

en·ligh·ten

UK/ɪnˈlaɪtən/ US/ənˈlaɪtən/ fairly common

verb

1.

make understand

  • “Can you enlighten me--I don”
Synonyms
2.
3.

make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear

  • “Could you clarify these remarks?”
  • “Clear up the question of who is at fault”
Synonyms

Origin

Formerly also inlighten, from Middle English enlightenen, inlightnen, a hybrid formed from inlighten (“to enlighten, illuminate”), from Old English inlīhtan, onlīhtan, enlīhtan (“to enlighten, illuminate, give light to, give sight to”) and lightnen (“to enlighten, illuminate”) (equivalent to light + -en). Cognate with Dutch inlichten (“to enlighten, inform”), Old High German inliuhten (“to enlighten, illuminate”), Gothic 𐌹𐌽𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌷𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 (inliuhtjan, “to enlighten, illuminate”). More at inlight, -en.

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Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.