illumines
Sheds light upon
Illumines is a literary or poetic form of illuminates—to light up or make bright: The moon illumines the garden path.
Like its more common cousin, it extends to mental or spiritual enlightenment: Her explanation illumines the mystery.
The word sounds elevated and old-fashioned, appearing mostly in poetry, hymns, and deliberately archaic prose.
Makes lighter or cheerier
- glowsEmits soft light
- shinesEmits or reflects radiance
- radiatesEmits in all directions
- gleamsShines with brief flashes
beams · flickers · shimmers · sparkles · luminous · incandescent · candles · lanterns
Deep perceptive understanding
- wisdomGood judgment from experience
- understandingMental comprehension of something
- clarityState of being understandable
- revelationSurprising disclosed truth
awakening · awareness · epiphany · comprehension · discernment · perception · intuition · realization
brightens
Makes lighter or cheerier
gleams · beams · flickers · shimmers · sparkles · luminous · incandescent · candles · lanterns · lamps
insight
Deep perceptive understanding
- wisdomGood judgment from experience
- understandingMental comprehension of something
- clarityState of being understandable
revelation · awakening · awareness · epiphany · comprehension · discernment · perception · intuition · realization · enlightenment
- illuminated manuscriptsHand-adorned medieval book pages
- illuminated lettersOrnamented characters in manuscripts
- illuminated signsBacklit or glowing markers
- illuminated textAdorned handwritten document
- illuminated streetsRoads with artificial lighting
- illuminated pagesAdorned manuscript sheets
illuminate, illumination, illuminated, illuminating, illumine, illuminates, illuminations, illuminative, illumining