1. (

• enlightenment

) education that results in understanding and the spread of knowledge ;

2. (

• nirvana ,
• enlightenment

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

3. (

• Enlightenment ,
• Age_of_Reason

) 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" ;