Word.ws English Dictionary

enlightening

enlightening is the present participle and gerund of enlighten.

Meaning of enlighten

Verb

enlighten (third-person singular simple present enlightens, present participle enlightening, simple past and past participle enlightened)

  1. (transitive) To supply with light.
    • The sun enlightens the Earth.
    Antonyms:
    endarken
  2. (figuratively, transitive) To make something clear to (someone); to give knowledge or understanding to.
    • She tried to enlighten them about the rules of the program, but they remained belligerently and self-righteously ignorant.

Adjective

enlightening

  1. Serving to enlighten.
    • Again, voice change is not easy and vulnerability plays a big part, but if choral teachers and adolescent singers approach it with the right mindframe, the experience can be empowering, enlightening, and restorative for all involved.2019, Bridget Sweet, Thinking Outside the Voice Box, page 71

Words formed from enlightening

Questions about enlightening

What does enlightening mean?
Enlightening means serving to enlighten.
What is enlightening the present participle and gerund of?
Enlightening is the present participle and gerund of enlighten.
What part of speech is enlightening?
Enlightening is an adjective.

Words near enlightening in the dictionary

  1. enlightenedness
  2. enlightener
  3. enlighteners
  4. enlightenest
  5. enlighteneth
  6. enlightening
  7. enlighteningly
  8. enlightenment
  9. enlightenments
  10. enlightens
  11. enlighting

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: enlightening (page history and authors); enlighten (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “enlightening.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/enlightening. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.