verb · academic
enlighten
/ɪnˈlaɪ.tən/en·LIGHT·en
to give someone greater knowledge and understanding about a subject or situation
Examples
“The lecture enlightened students about the social effects of urbanisation.”
“Could you enlighten me on why the experiment failed?”
“Reading widely can enlighten you to different cultural perspectives.”
Band 8 sentence
“A well-structured public-awareness campaign can enlighten citizens about sustainable waste practices and change behaviour over time.”
Collocations
- enlighten someone about/on
- be enlightened
- enlightening experience
Word family
Common mistakes
Please enlighten me the rules.→Please enlighten me about the rules.
She was enlighten by the teacher.→She was enlightened by the teacher.
Say it for a higher band
5tell→6inform→7+enlighten
Synonyms
inform
illuminate
Easily confused
lighten
“Good lighting can lighten a room and make it feel bigger.”
inform
“He informed me of the meeting time.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In -en
Learn it with its set