How to Use illuminating in a Sentence

illuminating

adjective
  • The stars that shined as bright as her two illuminating eyes.
    — Lilian Min, Cosmopolitan, 15 July 2017
  • And what has been most illuminating to you in having to do that on your own?
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 8 Dec. 2022
  • De Vries starts the dewy process with an illuminating primer.
    — Bella Cacciatore, Allure, 9 Apr. 2019
  • Its illuminating laser light helps spot and clean up even the lightest layer of dust.
    — Annie O’Sullivan, Good Housekeeping, 27 June 2023
  • It's been a pleasure having you here, and it's been very illuminating.
    — Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 12 Apr. 2022
  • The two scenes with the witches are more illuminating, anyway.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2021
  • United puts a different but no less illuminating set of words and numbers to our mile lust.
    — Ron Lieber, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2020
  • Here the highlighter hot hue is diffused above and below the eye in an illuminating halo.
    — Hannah Morrill, Allure, 16 Feb. 2018
  • Extra air tanks and illuminating devices would be deployed along the route.
    — USA TODAY, 3 July 2018
  • But her fuller response is more illuminating.
    — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 23 May 2026
  • The most illuminating and moving discussion takes place between these men in a prison cell.
    — Richard Kuipers, Variety, 27 July 2022
  • These books turned out to be much more illuminating and relevant than the chemotherapy book.
    — Michael W. Clune, Harper’s Magazine , 7 Apr. 2023
  • Once again, the initial state law might be an illuminating example.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
  • That’s great news, but even more illuminating is the detailed training data the athletes shared.
    — Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 27 Sep. 2022
  • This all led to those aforementioned last five minutes, which were some of the most illuminating in the show's history.
    — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, 3 Apr. 2019
  • Light beamed through voids in the vaulted stone ceiling, cutting through the gloom and illuminating piles of debris on the marble floor.
    — Christa Lesté-Lasserre, Science | AAAS, 12 Mar. 2020
  • The result is a film that’s no less chilling than other crime thrillers, but is far more illuminating about the human tragedy of cases like these.
    — Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 4 Nov. 2022
  • But in terms of his personality, perhaps the most illuminating story about him is the one about his trips around the world.
    — Kat Eschner, Smithsonian, 24 Mar. 2017
  • One of the most illuminating and cringe-inducing videos was made by Derek Del Rio.
    — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, 14 Oct. 2019
  • But that cameo included the most illuminating play of the preseason.
    — Rich Campbell, chicagotribune.com, 30 Aug. 2019
  • This is one of two documentaries by the filmmaker on this very list, and both look to be powerful and illuminating.
    — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, 20 Mar. 2019
  • In any case, there’s no guarantee the results of this trial will be any more illuminating than those of the earlier large studies.
    — Alice Park, Time, 11 June 2021
  • Any surprises—both good and bad—about the company, department and role can come out of this question and be quite illuminating.
    — Forbes, 15 Apr. 2022
  • Again, bold and daring and wild changes, sure, but also imaginative and illuminating.
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Thanks for your thorough and illuminating answers.
    — Jane Ciabattari september 25, Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025
  • These examples may be more than 250 years apart, but in short, but illuminating captions, Siegler traces their linage.
    — Agatha French, latimes.com, 15 Feb. 2018
  • The highly advanced steering wheel has some sort of illuminating light at the center of it, and overall, the steering wheel looks like a sci-fi take on the kitchen colander.
    — Dalvin Brown, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2019
  • Perhaps flashbacks, from the safety of the refugee camp, that could lead up to the most scarring memories would be more compelling and also more illuminating.
    — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Nov. 2020
  • The last episode involved horrifying doll monsters and a very illuminating mushroom trip.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 May 2026
  • The songs and poems featured on the album take the listener on an illuminating journey from the trails to the rails of the Old West.
    — Roger Catlin, Smithsonian, 30 May 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'illuminating.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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