: the act of giving someone knowledge or understanding the enlightenment of the public through education 2 the Enlightenment : a movement of the 18th century that stressed the belief that science and logic give people more knowledge and understanding than tradition and religion 3

Save Word enlightenment noun en· light· en· ment in-ˈlī-tᵊn-mənt en- Synonyms of enlightenment 1 : the act or means of enlightening : the state of being enlightened 2 capitalized : a philosophical movement of the 18th century marked by a rejection of traditional social, religious, and political ideas and an emphasis on rationalismused with the 3