enlightenment

noun

1. education that results in understanding and the spread of knowledge

Definition categories: thought, education

2. (Hinduism and Buddhism) the beatitude that transcends the cycle of reincarnation; characterized by the extinction of desire and suffering and individual consciousness

Similar word(s): nirvana

Definition categories: state, beatification, beatitude, blessedness

3. a movement in Europe from about 1650 until 1800 that advocated the use of reason and individualism instead of tradition and established doctrine

- the Enlightenment brought about many humanitarian reforms

Definition categories: group