How to Use illustration in a Sentence

illustration

noun
  • They selected photographs to use for the illustration of the book.
  • The illustrations that he provided in his speech were very effective.
  • Illustration is the key to good communication.
  • The illustration on page 30 shows the parts of an engine.
  • The tweet illustration shows white cleats, but not sure about that one.
    — Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
  • More good text, with an illustration to match.
    — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 2 Feb. 2026
  • But this was a real-time illustration of what that can mean.
    — Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The drive was a stark illustration of both progress and crisis.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 17 June 2026
  • The book, with its kitschy cover illustration of a red rose, has made the rounds for years.
    — Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt, The Atlantic, 25 Apr. 2022
  • Each illustration is paired with a statement from the artist.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2021
  • Some of the pages have illustrations.
    — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 9 Mar. 2026
  • That is another neat illustration — a sign of which way the wind has blown.
    — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 14 Sep. 2022
  • An illustration showing how a stent can support blood flow in an artery.
    — Kerry Breen, CBS News, 16 May 2026
  • The snakes were in containers that had their names and illustrations on the side.
    — Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 24 June 2026
  • How about some white space with an illustration of a gorilla?
    — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 2 June 2026
  • See how the book's illustrations use color to tell a story.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 23 Dec. 2025
  • An illustration of the whale-size ichthyosaurs, at right, among other forms of marine life.
    — NBC News, 28 Apr. 2022
  • Her baby, meanwhile, wears a tiny bib in the same print, plus gray socks with tiny illustrations of black cars.
    — Rosa Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 22 Aug. 2023
  • This, too, was an illustration of contrast.
    — Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 8 Feb. 2026
  • Words, and perhaps a hasty illustration, were your only ways to tell a story.
    — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 10 June 2026
  • Perhaps not the best illustration to prove the point (hey, season 2 was okay).
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2021
  • As an artist she was taken by the apparel and the illustrations.
    — Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 25 Sep. 2025
  • An illustration of a satellite moving at high speed over the Earth.
    — Julian E. Barnes, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2023
  • There’s no better illustration of the root of the city’s murder crisis than that.
    — Austin Berg, National Review, 10 Aug. 2021
  • One concrete illustration of this change is with students.
    — Christian B. Miller, The Conversation, 4 June 2026
  • Elvis broods on how this stranger with sad eyes reminds him of an illustration of Bluebeard’s wife.
    — Washington Post, 17 Aug. 2021
  • The book has changed Glaser’s outlook on her illustration work as well as her future prospects in the field.
    — Chris Bieri, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Sep. 2022
  • This week’s start to the new baseball season provides a stark illustration.
    — Andrew Marchand, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
  • An artist's illustration of pterosaurs on the Island of Skye.
    — NBC News, 22 Feb. 2022
  • That illustration seems almost quaint now, but the central concept still holds.
    — Claire Zillman, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'illustration.' 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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