il ‧ lu ‧ mi ‧ nate /ɪˈluːməneɪt, ɪˈluːmɪneɪt, ɪˈljuː- $ ɪˈluː-/ BrE AmE ( also illumine ) verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: past participle of illuminare , from lumen 'light' ]
1 . to make a light shine on something, or to fill a place with light:
A single candle illuminated his face.
At night the canals are beautifully illuminated.
2 . formal to make something much clearer and easier to understand:
The report illuminated the difficult issues at the heart of science policy.