Literally, those who are enlightened Persons in the early church who had received baptism; in which ceremony a lighted taper was given them, as a symbol of the spiritual illumination they has received by that sacrament
of one originated in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt, professor of canon law at Ingolstadt, which spread rapidly for a time, but ceased after a few years
An obscure sect of French Familists; The Hesychasts, Mystics, and Quietists; The Rosicrucians
Their principal doctrine was, that, by means of prayer, they had attained to so perfect a state as to have no need of ordinances, sacraments, good works, etc
Members of certain associations in Modern Europe, who combined to promote social reforms, by which they expected to raise men and society to perfection, esp
plural Any of various societies, sects or other people claiming religious or intellectual enlightenment
plural An alleged global, elite, secret society which has as its ultimate objective the subjugation of humanity (world domination or New World Order)
The methods of control used by Ming the Merciless, Rules of the Universe in the 1980 film Flash Gordon are a metaphor for what some perceive to be the influence of the Illuminati on the real world.
{n} formerly a sect in France who relied on sublime prayer for salvation, without other means; recently, associations of men to destroy religious institutions and substitue reason, men who rely on human perfectibility