illuminate
verbVerb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they illuminate | |
| he / she / it illuminates | |
| past simple illuminated | |
| past participle illuminated | |
| -ing form illuminating |
- illuminate something (formal)
to shine light on something 照明；照亮；照射 Extra ExamplesThe red glow of the sun beautifully illuminated the sky. 太阳的红色光辉把天空照耀得十分美丽。 The room was dimly illuminated by the soft glow of his bedside lamp. 他床头的灯发出柔和的光，淡淡地照着整个房间。 With the room fully illuminated, they students were able to see what they were doing. 房间里光线充足，学生们能够看到他们在做什么。 The corridor was illuminated by a single naked bulb. 走廊被一个裸露的灯泡照亮了。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- brightly
- brilliantly
- clearly
- …
- illuminate something (formal)
to make something clearer or easier to understand 阐明；解释 Extra ExamplesThese confessions serve to illuminate his argument. 这些告白用以阐明他的观点。 an incident which greatly illuminated the problems we faced 极为清楚地揭示出我们所面临问题的事件 His explanation obscured more than it illuminated. 他的解释模糊不清。 The study of language can help to illuminate how the human mind works. 对语言的研究有助于阐明人类思维是如何运作的。 This area of medicine has been greatly illuminated by recent advances in genetics. 遗传学的最新进展极大地阐明了医学的这一领域。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- greatly
- help (to)
- serve to
- illuminate something
to decorate a street, building, etc. with bright lights for a special occasion 用彩灯装饰 - illuminate something (literary)
to make a person’s face, etc. seem bright and excited 使容光焕发
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin illuminat- ‘illuminated’, from the verb illuminare, from in- ‘upon’ + lumen, lumin- ‘light’.