enlighten
en·light·en/ɪnˈlaɪtən/verb
enlighten is spelled E-N-L-I-G-H-T-E-N: 9 letters and 3 syllables (en·light·en). It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, enlighten means “To supply with light” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in enlighten?
| Letters | 9: E-N-L-I-G-H-T-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: en·light·en |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is enlighten?
Enlighten appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,798th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce enlighten?
- /ɪnˈlaɪtən/
- /ənˈlaɪtən/
- /ɛnˈlaɪtən/
Enlighten has 3 syllables, split en·light·en in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-enlighten.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of enlighten
- enlightens present, singular, he/she/it
- enlightening participle, present
- enlightened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does enlighten mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To supply with light.
The sun enlightens the Earth.
- 2
To make something clear to (someone); to give knowledge or understanding to.
She tried to enlighten them about the rules of the program, but they remained belligerently and self-righteously ignorant.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Enlighten in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | éclairer , informer |
| Portuguese | iluminar , esclarecer |
| Spanish | alumbrar, esclarecer |
| German | aufklären |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does enlighten come from?
Formerly also inlighten, from Middle English enlightenen, inlightnen, a hybrid formed from inlighten (“to enlighten, illuminate”), from Old English inlīhtan, onlīhtan, enlīhtan (“to enlighten, illuminate, give light to, give sight to”) and lightnen (“to enlighten, illuminate”) (equivalent to light + -en). Cognate with Dutch inlichten (“to enlighten, inform”), Old High German inliuhten (“to enlighten, illuminate”), Gothic 𐌹𐌽𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌷𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 (inliuhtjan, “to enlighten, illuminate”). More at inlight, -en.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).