afterglow

noun

af·ter·glow | \ ˈaf-tər-ˌglō

Definition of afterglow

1 : a glow remaining where a light has disappeared

2 : a pleasant effect or feeling that lingers after something is done, experienced, or achieved basking in the afterglow of success

Examples of afterglow in a Sentence

the afterglow of the sunset

Recent Examples on the Web As the afterglow of the inaugural shift fades, the realpolitik of domestic and diplomatic pressures has already begun to reemerge. — Daniel Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, "Week 1 and counting in the Biden-Harris era as Latinos wait on immigration promises," 27 Jan. 2021 Last New Year’s Eve, in the afterglow of a full-on deconstruction of No. 11 Utah in the Alamo Bowl, Tom Herman fielded some questions about the future. — Nick Moyle, ExpressNews.com, "Texas looks to defend Alamo Bowl title against Colorado," 28 Dec. 2020 Tea service is an event here, served in a heavy art deco pot with specialty blends like the Flower Power ($6), a tart and aromatic blend of hibiscus, hops, lavender and the easygoing afterglow of CBD. — Mike Sutter, ExpressNews.com, "3 new San Antonio restaurants include vegan cafe Hash, Jewish deli The Hayden and soul food drive-thru Mamma Lou’s," 10 Dec. 2020 On the other hand, the two NASA missions, after locating a burst with their wide-field monitors, can zoom in with narrow-field instruments to study the burst’s afterglow in gamma rays and at other wavelengths. — Dennis Normile, Science | AAAS, "China launches gamma ray–hunting satellites to trace sources of gravitational waves," 10 Dec. 2020 In the afterglow of Michigan football’s first and only victory, the sequence that opened the Wolverines’ season was brushed aside like an inconvenient truth. — Rainer Sabin, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan football tried to show us how fragile it could be. We overlooked it," 13 Nov. 2020 Many people there have some memories of the Apollo era and its afterglow, and of the cadre of brave astronauts who explored the moon. — Marina Koren, The Atlantic, "Mark Kelly Played the Astronaut Card," 6 Nov. 2020 Analysis of the cosmic microwave background radiation—the fading afterglow of the big bang discovered in the late 1960s—indicated that the universe erupted into existence in an astonishingly uniform state. — Paul Davies, Scientific American, "In Memoriam: John D. Barrow," 10 Oct. 2020 Pat Riley enjoyed the afterglow of the Miami Heat season. — Dave Hyde, sun-sentinel.com, "Hyde: Does ‘The Next Thing’ for Pat Riley mean a shot at Giannis or Beal? | Commentary," 23 Oct. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'afterglow.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.