Elucidate vs Enlighten - What's the difference?
elucidate | enlighten |
To make clear; to clarify; to shed light upon.
* 1817 , , Northanger Abbey , ch. 13:
* 1960 , "
* 2004 , David Bernstein, “
To supply with light; to illuminate; as, the sun enlightens the earth.
To make clear to the intellect or conscience; to shed the light of truth and knowledge upon; to furnish with increase of knowledge; to instruct; as, to enlighten the mind or understanding.
As verbs the difference between elucidate and enlighten
is that elucidate is to make clear; to clarify; to shed light upon while enlighten is to supply with light; to illuminate; as, the sun enlightens the earth.elucidate
English
Verb
(elucidat)- The business, however, though not perfectly elucidated by this speech, soon ceased to be a puzzle.
Medicine: Unmasking the Brain," Time , 4 April:
- [P]hysicians at the annual meeting of the American Academy of General Practice were fascinated by a 3-ft. model showing the brain's components in 20 layers of translucent plastic, and wired for colored lights to elucidate some of its workings.
Philosophy Hitches a Ride With ‘The Sopranos’,” New York Times , 13 April (retrieved 19 Aug. 2009):
- The new Sopranos volume has 17 essays that examine the television show and elucidate concepts from classical philosophers, including Aristotle, Machiavelli, Nietzsche, Sun Tzu and Plato.