il ‧ lus ‧ trate W2 AC /ˈɪləstreɪt/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ illustration , ↑ illustrator ; verb : ↑ illustrate ; adjective : ↑ illustrative ]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: past participle of illustrare , from lustrare 'to make pure or bright' ]
1 . to make the meaning of something clearer by giving examples:
Let me give an example to illustrate the point.
She illustrated her discussion with diagrams.
2 . to be an example which shows that something is true or that a fact exists
illustrate that
This dispute illustrates that the regime is deeply divided.
illustrate how
The following examples illustrate how this operates in practice.
This illustrates a fundamental weakness in the system.
3 . to put pictures in a book, article etc:
Over a hundred diagrams, tables and pictures illustrate the book.
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THESAURUS
▪ draw to make a picture, pattern etc using a pen or pencil:
The children were asked to draw a picture of their families.
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I’m going to art classes to learn how to draw.
▪ sketch /sketʃ/ to draw a picture of something or someone quickly and without a lot of detail:
Roy took a pencil and sketched the bird quickly, before it moved.
▪ illustrate to draw the pictures in a book:
It’s a beautiful book, illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
▪ doodle /ˈduːdl/ to draw shapes or patterns without really thinking about what you are doing:
He was on the phone, doodling on his notepad as he spoke.
▪ scribble to draw shapes or lines without making a definite picture or pattern. Small children do this before they have learned to draw or write:
At the age of two, she loved scribbling with crayons and coloured pencils.
▪ trace to copy a picture by putting a piece of thin paper over it and drawing the lines that you can see through the paper:
First trace the map, and then copy it into your workbooks.