Basic Details
Word: Illustrate
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: To draw pictures for a book or article; also to explain or make something clearer by using examples or diagrams.
Synonyms: explain, demonstrate, show, draw
Antonyms: confuse, obscure
How to Spell Illustrate
Syllables: il - lus - trate
Tricky part: It starts with a double l, and the ending is trate, not trait. Students sometimes add an extra e and write illusterate.
Watch out for: ilustrate, illastrate, illusterate
Memory tip: Spell it in three beats, il-lus-trate: the double l starts it, and trate rhymes with rate, so no extra e creeps in after the s.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Ruskin Bond's stories are often illustrated with simple ink sketches.
Example 2: The teacher used a torch and a ball to illustrate how day and night happen.
Example 3: Can you illustrate your answer with an example?
Fun Fact
Illustrate comes from the Latin illustrare, to light up, so an illustration was first something that throws light on a subject.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Choose the correct letters to fill in the blanks:
i_lustr_te
a) l, e
b) l, i
c) s, a
d) l, a
Show answer
d) l, a. The word begins ill and ends with ate.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word illustrate as used in the sentence:
Our science teacher used a chart of the water cycle to illustrate how clouds are formed.
a) conceal
b) confuse
c) demonstrate
d) question
Show answer
c) demonstrate. To illustrate an idea with a chart is to demonstrate it; conceal means to hide it.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The author asked her daughter to tlsueatrli the children's book with watercolour paintings.
a) illustrious
b) frustrate
c) illustrate
d) illiterate
Show answer
c) illustrate. Illustrious ends in ious, illiterate needs an i and e, frustrate needs an f; illustrate fits the jumble.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these would best illustrate how a volcano erupts?
a) a blank page
b) a list of rivers
c) a bus ticket
d) a labelled diagram
Show answer
d) a labelled diagram
2. A teacher who illustrates a point is ____.
a) hiding it
b) making it clearer
c) forgetting it
d) making it harder
Show answer
b) making it clearer
