illustrate

il·lus·trate

 (ĭl′ə-strāt′, ĭ-lŭs′trāt′)

v. il·lus·trat·ed, il·lus·trat·ing, il·lus·trates

v.tr.

1.

a. To clarify or explain, as by the use of examples or comparisons: The mayor illustrated the problem with an anecdote.

b. To serve as an example or clarification of: a story that illustrates a broader social problem.

2. To provide (a text) with explanatory or decorative images: illustrated the book with colorful drawings.

3. Obsolete To light up; illuminate.

v.intr.

To present a clarification, example, or explanation.


[Latin illūstrāre, illūstrāt- : in-, in; see in-2 + lūstrāre, to make bright; see leuk- in Indo-European roots.]


il′lus·trat′a·ble adj.

il′lus·tra′tor n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

illustrate

(ˈɪləˌstreɪt)

vb

1. to clarify or explain by use of examples, analogy, etc

2. (tr) to be an example or demonstration of

3. (tr) to explain or decorate (a book, text, etc) with pictures

4. (tr) an archaic word for enlighten

[C16: from Latin illustrāre to make light, explain, from lustrāre to purify, brighten; see lustrum]

ˈillusˌtratable adj

ˈillusˌtrative, ˈillusˌtratory adj

ˈillusˌtratively adv

ˈillusˌtrator n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

il•lus•trate

(ˈɪl əˌstreɪt, ɪˈlʌs treɪt)

v. -trat•ed, -trat•ing. v.t.

1. to furnish with.

2. to make intelligible with examples.

v.i.

3. to clarify one's words with examples.

[1520–30; < Latin illustrātus, past participle of illustrāre to illuminate, make clear, give glory to; see il-1, luster1]

il′lus•tra`tor, n.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

illustrate


Past participle: illustrated
Gerund: illustrating
Imperative
illustrate
illustrate
Present
I illustrate
you illustrate
he/she/it illustrates
we illustrate
you illustrate
they illustrate
Preterite
I illustrated
you illustrated
he/she/it illustrated
we illustrated
you illustrated
they illustrated
Present Continuous
I am illustrating
you are illustrating
he/she/it is illustrating
we are illustrating
you are illustrating
they are illustrating
Present Perfect
I have illustrated
you have illustrated
he/she/it has illustrated
we have illustrated
you have illustrated
they have illustrated
Past Continuous
I was illustrating
you were illustrating
he/she/it was illustrating
we were illustrating
you were illustrating
they were illustrating
Past Perfect
I had illustrated
you had illustrated
he/she/it had illustrated
we had illustrated
you had illustrated
they had illustrated
Future
I will illustrate
you will illustrate
he/she/it will illustrate
we will illustrate
you will illustrate
they will illustrate
Future Perfect
I will have illustrated
you will have illustrated
he/she/it will have illustrated
we will have illustrated
you will have illustrated
they will have illustrated
Future Continuous
I will be illustrating
you will be illustrating
he/she/it will be illustrating
we will be illustrating
you will be illustrating
they will be illustrating
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been illustrating
you have been illustrating
he/she/it has been illustrating
we have been illustrating
you have been illustrating
they have been illustrating
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been illustrating
you will have been illustrating
he/she/it will have been illustrating
we will have been illustrating
you will have been illustrating
they will have been illustrating
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been illustrating
you had been illustrating
he/she/it had been illustrating
we had been illustrating
you had been illustrating
they had been illustrating
Conditional
I would illustrate
you would illustrate
he/she/it would illustrate
we would illustrate
you would illustrate
they would illustrate
Past Conditional
I would have illustrated
you would have illustrated
he/she/it would have illustrated
we would have illustrated
you would have illustrated
they would have illustrated

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Verb1.illustrate - clarify by giving an example of

elaborate, expatiate, expound, lucubrate, dilate, flesh out, exposit, enlarge, expand - add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing; "She elaborated on the main ideas in her dissertation"

2.illustrate - depict with an illustration

artistic creation, artistic production, art - the creation of beautiful or significant things; "art does not need to be innovative to be good"; "I was never any good at art"; "he said that architecture is the art of wasting space beautifully"

depict, picture, show, render - show in, or as in, a picture; "This scene depicts country life"; "the face of the child is rendered with much tenderness in this painting"

3.illustrate - supply with illustrations; "illustrate a book with drawings"

adorn, decorate, grace, ornament, embellish, beautify - make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.; "Decorate the room for the party"; "beautify yourself for the special day"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

illustrate

verb

2. explain, describe, interpret, sum up, make clear, clarify, summarize, bring home, point up, make plain, elucidate She illustrates her analysis with extracts from interviews and discussions.

3. adorn, ornament, embellish He has illustrated the book with black-and-white photographs.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

illustrate

verb

1. To demonstrate and clarify with examples:

2. To serve as an example, image, or symbol of:

3. To make clear or clearer:

Idiom: shed light on (or upon).

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

يُزَوِّد كتابا بالصُّوَريُوَضِّح بالأمثِلَه

ilustrovat

belyseillustrere

illusztrál

lÿsa, skÿramyndskreyta

iliustracijailiustratoriusiliustravimasiliustruojantisnušviečiantis

ilustrētpaskaidrot

ilustrovaťznázorniť

ilustriratiponazoritislikovno opremiti

örneklemekresimlendirmek

illustrate

[ˈɪləstreɪt] VT

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

illustrate

[ˈɪləstreɪt] vt

(= show) → illustrer
the incident illustrates how ... → l'incident illustre à quel point ...
The incident illustrates how tricky it is to design a safe system → L'incident illustre à quel point il est difficile de concevoir un système sans danger.
the incident illustrates that ... → l'incident illustre que ...

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

illustrate

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

illustrate

(ˈiləstreit) verb

1. to provide (a book, lecture etc) with pictures, diagrams etc.

2. to make (a statement etc) clearer by providing examples etc. Let me illustrate my point; This diagram will illustrate what I mean.

ˈillustrated adjective

having pictures etc. an illustrated catalogue.

ˌilluˈstration noun

1. a picture. coloured illustrations.

3. the act of illustrating.

ˈillustrative (-strətiv) , ((American) iˈlastrətiv) adjectiveˈillustrator noun

a person who draws pictures etc for books etc.

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.