the Enlightenment
noun
: a movement of the 18th century that stressed the belief that science and logic give people more knowledge and understanding than tradition and religion
Examples of the Enlightenment in a Sentence
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Ironically, the Slavophiles’ argument came straight out of European Romanticism and idealism, which similarly questioned the rationalist claims of the Enlightenment.
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James Verini, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2025
What’s more, Germany was the seat of the Enlightenment, a capital of European culture, and the home of more than 30 Nobel laureates.
—Luke Berryman, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2025
So hoped some intellectuals during the Enlightenment who saw the nation as a carrier of a universalist spirit.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
After the Enlightenment shows us how this came to be.
—Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins, Foreign Affairs, 10 July 2017
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James Verini, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2025
What’s more, Germany was the seat of the Enlightenment, a capital of European culture, and the home of more than 30 Nobel laureates.
—Luke Berryman, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2025
So hoped some intellectuals during the Enlightenment who saw the nation as a carrier of a universalist spirit.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
After the Enlightenment shows us how this came to be.
—Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins, Foreign Affairs, 10 July 2017
See All Example Sentences for the Enlightenment
Cite this Entry
“The Enlightenment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20Enlightenment. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
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