illumine
il·lum·ine/ɪˈlumən/verb
illumine is spelled I-L-L-U-M-I-N-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables (il·lum·ine). It appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 150,355th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, illumine means “To shine light on (something)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in illumine?
| Letters | 8: I-L-L-U-M-I-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: il·lum·ine |
| In writing | about once in every 25 million words; the 150,355th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is illumine?
Illumine appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 150,355th 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 illumine?
- UK /ɪˈl(j)uːmɪn/
- US /ɪˈlumən/
Illumine has 3 syllables, split il·lum·ine in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-illumine.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with illumine?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as illumine from its last stressed vowel (/umən/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of illumine
- illumines present, singular, he/she/it
- illumining participle, present
- illumined participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does illumine mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To shine light on (something).
- 2
To cause (something) to glow or shine with light.
- 3
To enlighten (someone) spiritually; to induce (someone) to adopt, or believe in the truth of, a religion, religious tenet, etc.
- 4
To cause (the eyes) to see.
- 5
To cause (a person or their face) to show enlightenment, happiness, etc.
- 6
rareTo enlighten (someone) intellectually.
- 7
To decorate (a page of a manuscript book) with ornamental designs.
- 8
To become bright; to light up.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does illumine come from?
From Middle English illuminen (“to light, light up; to shine; (figuratively) to enlighten spiritually; to make illustrious”) [and other forms], from Old French illuminer (“to light up, illuminate; (figuratively) to enlighten”) (modern French illuminer), from Latin illūmināre, the present active infinitive of illūminō (“to light up, illuminate; to brighten; to adorn; to make conspicuous”), from il- (variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘in, within’; intensifying prefix)) + lūminō (“to illuminate; to brighten; (figuratively) to reveal”) (from lūmen (“light; light source; (poetic) brightness; daylight”
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).