verb · neutral
illustrate
/ˈɪləstreɪt/IL·lus·trate
to explain or make something clear by using examples, pictures, or comparisons
Examples
“The graph illustrates the rapid rise in urban population over the past decade.”
“He illustrated his point with a brief case study.”
“The lecturer used several examples to illustrate the main theory.”
Band 8 sentence
“The case study vividly illustrates how local initiatives can mitigate the effects of climate change on coastal communities.”
Collocations
- illustrate with
- clearly illustrate
- be illustrated by
Word family
Common mistakes
illustrate by→illustrate with / be illustrated by
to illustrate something the example is ...→to illustrate this, the example is ... / to illustrate, ...
Say it for a higher band
5show→6demonstrate→7+illustrate
Synonyms
demonstrate
show
Easily confused
demonstrate
“The experiment clearly demonstrated the effect of temperature on reaction rate.”
Related words
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In Sublist 3
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