How to Use enlightened in a Sentence

enlightened

adjective
  • These ambitions will be hard to accomplish without enlightened leadership and a healthy dose of imagination.
    Matthias Matthijs, Foreign Affairs, 11 June 2024
  • But this very enlightened, smart friend of mine had bought it and swore by it.
    Sarah Todd, Quartz, 26 Aug. 2021
  • Soon the world would transform, the ship would take off, and only the enlightened could come along.
    Alden Woods, azcentral, 18 Apr. 2018
  • Kim tries to enjoy it, because that’s the enlightened thing to do.
    Daniel Jackson, Allure, 18 Sep. 2017
  • Not to pick on Playboy, though; 2003 was a less enlightened time.
    William Alden, The Atlantic, 1 Oct. 2019
  • But the voyage to manhood in the enlightened Shavian sense also has to pay off for Eliza in the end.
    Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, 30 Apr. 2017
  • There are thousands in this group, and not one enlightened.
    Susan Harfouche, The New Republic, 12 Apr. 2018
  • Who knew these two were so enlightened about raisin-to-nut ratios in trail mix?
    Christopher Rosa, Glamour, 2 Apr. 2018
  • The teachers, staff and students took an enlightened view of us as people to learn from and guide.
    Doris Bittar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 July 2022
  • But The Roots have been a favorite of enlightened hip-hop fans since not long after forming in 1987.
    George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2024
  • Finding the right sofa is a job not even the most enlightened among us can do without a few minor headaches.
    Liz Stinson, Curbed, 7 Aug. 2019
  • What has become of our stride for a free and dignified life in an enlightened and peaceful Europe?
    Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 2 Nov. 2023
  • This was a new, and altogether enlightened, view of the spoils of victory.
    David Von Drehle, Twin Cities, 6 June 2019
  • How could such an injustice happen in this enlightened day and age?
    David Whitley, OrlandoSentinel.com, 13 June 2017
  • Not the enlightened cultural elites and the mainstream media, right?
    Fox News, 13 May 2018
  • Letting go of the five-day, 8-to-5 workweek has become the norm by more enlightened employers.
    Phil Blair, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2023
  • When Obama did these things, he was described as enlightened.
    Fabiola Santiago, miamiherald, 12 June 2018
  • But these were not simply the good-neighbor actions of an enlightened franchise.
    Peter King, SI.com, 23 Sep. 2017
  • Rescuing Emma from rapists is even more of a challenge because the age of consent in this not-so-enlightened era is 10.
    Marilyn Stasio, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2018
  • One was forced to thank Xi every night for the opportunity to be so enlightened.
    New York Times, 29 Jan. 2020
  • Meanwhile that enlightened community of Web-users, that civilisation of the Mind, seemed slow to form, to say the least.
    The Economist, 22 Feb. 2018
  • This is where, in a more enlightened world, the education would flow in the other direction, from Mitchell to the Senate leader.
    Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 8 Sep. 2021
  • Over time, a more enlightened view took hold, and nowadays a person who dies by suicide is seen as a victim of mental illness, not as a felon.
    D. T. Max, The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2021
  • On the other hand, many policies and practices that are deemed enlightened are already widespread.
    Robert Samuelson, Twin Cities, 25 Aug. 2019
  • There are more and more enlightened leaders, like Joly, in the American private sector.
    Peter Georgescu, Forbes, 16 Sep. 2021
  • Jamison always writes in the first person, as present as her subjects; the reader is skeptical, enlightened, and moved right along with her.
    David Canfield, EW.com, 19 Sep. 2019
  • The enlightened humanism of the director of Melvin and Howard is evident in every frame.
    Patrick Friel, Chicago Reader, 10 July 2018
  • In the aftermath of the violence at Homestead, many came to see Carnegie as a threat to workers rather than an enlightened champion of their welfare.
    Robert Mitchell, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2018
  • Except eighth-grade boys these days are probably way more enlightened.
    Katie Walsh, latimes.com, 19 Apr. 2018
  • And this is the N.B.A., the most progressive league in professional sports, with the most enlightened commissioner.
    David Remnick, The New Yorker, 13 June 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'enlightened.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: