What does enlightening mean?
Word: Enlightening
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Enlightening means giving you new knowledge, so that you understand something better than before.
Synonyms: informative, eye-opening
How do you spell enlightening?
Syllables: en - light - en - ing
Tricky part: Many pupils drop the e after light and write the word like lightning, the flash in a storm. Enlightening keeps an en before the ing.
Watch out for: enlightning, inlightening, enlightenning
Memory tip: A flash of lightning is over in a moment, so it stays short; enlightening takes longer, so it keeps the extra en before the ing.
Enlightening in a sentence
Example 1: Our trip to the old observatory was enlightening; at last I understood how eclipses happen.
Example 2: Daniel's grandfather gave an enlightening account of farming before tractors arrived in his village.
Example 3: Reading the explorer's own letters proved more enlightening than any summary in the textbook.
Fun Fact
The verb enlighten is behind the name the Enlightenment, given to a period in European history, mainly the 1700s, when many thinkers argued that reason and science could improve people's lives.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
enl_g_tening
a) e,h
b) i,g
c) y,h
d) i,h
Show answer
d) i,h. The long i sound in the middle is written igh, as in light and bright.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word enlightening as used in the sentence:
The museum guide gave an enlightening talk on how early sailors used the stars to find their way.
a) tiring
b) entertaining
c) illuminating
d) lengthy
Show answer
c) illuminating. An illuminating talk sheds light on a topic, which is what the guide's talk did; a talk can be entertaining without teaching much.
Spell-o-Spell
One word in this list is misspelt. Choose what that word means:
1. enlightening 2. curiosity 3. discovary 4. intellect
a) the act of finding or learning about something for the first time
b) making a subject much clearer to you
c) a strong wish to know or learn about something
d) the power of the mind to think and understand
Show answer
a) the act of finding or learning about something for the first time. Discovery is the verb discover with a y added; enlightening, curiosity and intellect are spelt correctly.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Daniel found the documentary on coral reefs enlightening. Afterwards he most likely ____.
a) felt sleepy and went to bed early
b) knew far more about reefs than before
c) could not recall what it had been about
d) wanted to switch it off halfway through
Show answer
b) knew far more about reefs than before
2. Which phrase means the opposite of an enlightening lecture?
a) an inspiring lecture
b) a baffling lecture
c) a detailed lecture
d) a thoughtful lecture
Show answer
b) a baffling lecture
