illustrate

• POS: Verb (usu participle), Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: il=lus=trate

CIDE DICTIONARY

illustrate, v. t. [L. illustratus, p. p. of illustrare to illustrate, fr. illustris bright. See Illustrious.].

•  To make clear, bright, or luminous.  [1913 Webster]

  "Here, when the moon illustrates all the sky."  [1913 Webster]
•  To set in a clear light; to exhibit distinctly or conspicuously.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

  "To prove him, and illustrate his high worth."  [1913 Webster]
•  To make clear, intelligible, or apprehensible; to elucidate, explain, or exemplify, as by means of figures, comparisons, and examples.  [1913 Webster]
•  To adorn with pictures, as a book or a subject; to elucidate with pictures, as a history or a romance.  [1913 Webster]
•  To give renown or honor to; to make illustrious; to glorify.  [1913 Webster]

  "Matter to me of glory, whom their hate
  Illustrates."  [1913 Webster]

illustrate, a. [L. illustratus, p. p.].

 Illustrated; distinguished; illustrious.  [1913 Webster]
"This most gallant, illustrate, and learned gentleman."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

illustrate, v.tr.
1 a provide (a book, newspaper, etc.) with pictures. b elucidate (a description etc.) by drawings or pictures.
2 serve as an example of.
3 explain or make clear, esp. by examples.

Etymology

L illustrare (as IN-(2), lustrare light up)

THESAURUS

illustrate

account for, adorn, adumbrate, allegorize, approve, argue, attest, bespeak, betoken, body forth, breathe, call to mind, cite, cite a particular, clarify, clear up, connote, crack, decipher, decorate, demonstrate, demythologize, denote, display, document, elucidate, embellish, emblazon, embody, enlighten, euhemerize, evidence, evince, example, exemplify, exhibit, explain, explain away, explicate, exposit, expound, express, figure, foreshadow, furnish evidence, give a for-instance, give indication of, give reason for, give the meaning, go to show, illuminate, image, impersonate, imply, incarnate, indicate, instance, involve, itemize, make clear, make plain, manifest, mark, mirror, name, ornament, particularize, personate, personify, picture, point to, popularize, prefigure, pretypify, project, quote, rationalize, realize, reflect, set forth, shadow, shadow forth, shed light upon, show, show how, show signs of, show the way, signalize, signify, simplify, solve, speak for itself, speak volumes, spell out, suggest, symptomatize, tell, tend to show, throw light upon, unfold, unlock, unravel

ROGET THESAURUS

illustrate

Conformity

VB conform to, conform to rule, accommodate oneself to, adapt oneself to, rub off corners, be regular, move in a groove, follow observe the rules, go by the rules, bend to the rules, obey the rules, obey the precedents, comply with, tally with, chime in with, fall in with, be guided by, be regulated by, fall into a custom, fall into a usage, follow the fashion, follow the crowd, follow the multitude, pass muster, do as others do, hurler avec les loups, stand on ceremony, when in Rome do as the Romans do, go with the stream, go with the flow, swim with the stream, swim with the current, swim with the tide, blow with the wind, stick to the beaten track, keep one in countenance, exemplify, illustrate, cite, quote, quote precedent, quote authority, appeal to authority, put a case, produce an instance, elucidate, explain.

Ornament

VB ornament, overlay with ornament, overcharge, smell of the lamp, ornament, embellish, enrich, decorate, adorn, bead, beautify, adonize, smarten, furbish, polish, gild, varnish, whitewash, enamel, japan, lacquer, paint, grain, garnish, trim, dizen, bedizen, prink, prank, trick out, fig out, deck, bedeck, dight, bedight, array, begawd, titivate, dress, dress up, spangle, bespangle, powder, embroider, work, chase, emboss, fret, emblazon, illuminate, illustrate, become.

Interpretation

VB interpret, explain, define, construe, translate, render, do into, turn into, transfuse the sense of, find out, 1 the meaning of, read, spell out, make out, decipher, unravel, disentangle, find the key of, enucleate, resolve, solve, read between the lines, account for, find the cause, tell the cause of, throw light upon, shed light upon, shed new light upon, shed fresh light upon, clear up, clarify, elucidate, illustrate, exemplify, unfold, expound, comment upon, annotate, popularize, take in a particular sense, understand in a particular sense, receive in a particular sense, accept in a particular sense, understand by, put a construction on, be given to understand.

Representation

VB copy, drawing, sketch, drought, draft, plot, chart, figure, scheme, image, likeness, icon, portrait, striking likeness, speaking likeness, very image, effigy, facsimile, figure, figure head, puppet, doll, figurine, aglet, manikin, lay- figure, model, mammet, marionette, fantoccini, waxwork, bust, statue, statuette, ideograph, hieroglyphic, anaglyph, kanji, diagram, monogram, map, plan, chart, ground plan, projection, elevation (plan), ichnography, cartography, atlas, outline, scheme, view, radiograph, scotograph, sciagraph, spectrogram, heliogram, V, represent, delineate, depict, depicture, portray, take a likeness, catch a likeness, hit off, photograph, daguerreotype, snapshot, figure, shadow forth, shadow out, adumbrate, body forth, describe, trace, copy, mold, dress up, illustrate, symbolize, paint, carve, engrave, personate, personify, impersonate, assume a character, pose as, act, play, mimic, hold the mirror up to nature.