enlightenment

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun education that results in understanding and the spread of knowledge
noun (Hinduism and Buddhism) the beatitude that transcends the cycle of reincarnation; characterized by the extinction of desire and suffering and individual consciousness
noun a movement in Europe from about 1650 until 1800 that advocated the use of reason and individualism instead of tradition and established doctrine

From enlighten + -ment.

What enlightenment did he need? — Les Misérables, Victor Hugo
THE ENLIGHTENMENTS OF PAGETT, M.P. — The Works of Rudyard Kipling: One Volume Edition, Rudyard Kipling
[rising in sudden enlightenment] O-o-o-o-oh! — Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy, Bernard Shaw

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