Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: Latin
Origin: , past participle of illustrare, from lustrare 'to make pure or bright'

illustrate

 verb
     
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il‧lus‧trate W2 [transitive]
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.
3TCN to put pictures in a book, article etc:
Over a hundred diagrams, tables and pictures illustrate the book.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
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