enlightenment
/ɪnˈlʌɪt(ə)nm(ə)nt
/ /ɛnˈlʌɪt(ə)nm(ə)nt/noun
1 [mass noun] The action of enlightening or the state of being enlightened: Robbie looked to me for enlightenment...
- At that point, I experienced a brief, dazzling moment of enlightenment.
- The television channel's mission was once to educate the nation and bring enlightenment to the masses.
- Though those that follow it really believe it has helped them reach some kind of enlightenment.
Synonyms
understanding, insight, education, learning, knowledge, awareness, information, erudition, wisdom, instruction, teaching;
illumination, light, edification, awakening;
culture, refinement, cultivation, civilization, sophistication, advancement, development, liberalism, open-mindedness, broad-mindedness
informal an aha moment
1.1The action or state of attaining or having attained spiritual knowledge or insight, in particular (in Buddhism) that awareness which frees a person from the cycle of rebirth: the key to enlightenment is the way of the Buddha...
- Ultimately, the goal is to attain enlightenment, stopping the cycle of rebirth.
- After the Buddha attained enlightenment, his disciples took refuge in him and from him.
- On hearing the Buddha's second sermon the five attained full enlightenment.
2 (the Enlightenment) A European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition. It was heavily influenced by 17th-century philosophers such as Descartes, Locke, and Newton, and its prominent figures included Kant, Goethe, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Adam Smith.