Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of illustrate

17 similar words

Another word for illustrate is illuminate. Other synonyms of illustrate are belight, beshine, bright, enlighten and fire.

Synonyms and similar words for illustrate

verbTo shed light upon.

  • illuminateTo decorate the page of a manuscript book with ornamental designs.
  • belight
  • beshine dialectal
  • brightOften followed by up: to cast light on (someone or something); to brighten, to illuminate.
  • enlightenTo supply with light.
  • fireTo light up as if by fire; to illuminate.
  • illumine
  • irradiateTo make (someone or something) bright by shining light on them or it; to brighten, to illuminate.
  • lightTo illuminate; to provide light for when it is dark.
  • lighten
  • light upTo illuminate, to bring light to something, to brighten.
  • shed light onTo illuminate; to make clear.
  • alight archaicTo cast light on (something); to illuminate, to light up.
  • illume archaicTo throw or spread light upon; to make light or bright.
  • luster obsoleteTo shed light on, to illustrate, to show.
  • lustrate obsolete

verbTo give renown or honour to; to make illustrious.

Meaning of illustrate

  1. verb To clarify something by giving, or serving as, an example or a comparison.
  2. verb To provide a book or other publication with pictures, diagrams or other explanatory or decorative features.
  3. verb To shed light upon.

Full definition of illustrate

illustrate in other languages

Questions about synonyms of illustrate

What is another word for illustrate?
Illustrate has 17 synonyms on Word.ws, such as illuminate, belight, beshine, bright, enlighten, fire, illumine and irradiate.
What does illustrate mean?
Illustrate means to clarify something by giving, or serving as, an example or a comparison.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: illustrate (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of illustrate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/illustrate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.