[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

enlightening \enlightening\ adj.
   1. enlightening so as to encourage intellectual or moral
      improvement.

   syn: edifying.
        wordnet 1.5

   2. tending to increase knowledge or dissipate ignorance; as,
      an enlightening glimpse of government in action.
      wordnet 1.5

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

enlightening
     adj 1: tending to increase knowledge or dissipate ignorance; "an
            enlightening glimpse of government in action" syn: informative,
             instructive ant: unenlightening
     2: enlightening or uplifting so as to encourage intellectual or
        moral improvement; "the paintings in the church served an
        edifying purpose even for those who could not read" syn:
        edifying ant: unedifying
     3: highly enlightening; making understandable or clarifying;
        "an illuminating lecture"; "illuminating pieces of
        information" syn: illuminating ant: unilluminating
see also:
informative instructive unenlightening edifying unedifying illuminating 
unilluminating 

[3] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

64 moby thesaurus words for "enlightening":
   advisory, allegorizing, annotative, autodidactic, brightening,
   broadening, clarifying, coeducational, communicative, critical,
   cultural, demonstrative, demythologizing, didactic, disabusing,
   disciplinary, disenchanting, disillusionary, disillusioning,
   disillusive, edifying, editorial, educating, educational,
   educative, elucidative, euhemeristic, exegetic, exemplificative,
   exhortatory, explaining, explanatory, explicative, explicatory,
   expositive, expository, glossarial, homiletic, hortatory,
   illuminant, illuminating, illuminative, illumining, illustrative,
   informational, informative, informing, initiatory, instructive,
   introductory, lecturing, lightening, lighting, monitory, preaching,
   preceptive, propaedeutic, rationalistic, rationalizing,
   scholiastic, self-teaching, teaching, tuitionary, undeceiving

Enlightening >> E Words
Enlightening, definition of term: Enlightening
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