twilight

noun

twi·​light ˈtwī-ˌlīt 

often attributive

1

: the light from the sky between full night and sunrise or between sunset and full night produced by diffusion of sunlight through the atmosphere and its dust

also : a time of twilight

2

a

: an intermediate state that is not clearly defined

lived in the twilight of neutrality

—Newsweek

b

: a period of decline

Synonyms

• black
• blackness
• candlelight
• dark
• darkness
• dusk
• gloaming
• gloom
• murk
• night
• semidarkness
• shade
• shadows
• umbra

Examples of twilight in a Sentence

The sun set and twilight fell.

stumbled around the twilight of the shuttered room, unable to see where she was going

Recent Examples on the Web

Unexpectedly, a rhythmic pounding on metal interrupted the twilight bird calls. —Scott Haugen, Outdoor Life, 11 July 2024

Rasputin: faith, power, and the twilight of the Romanovs Bleeding.org. —Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 9 July 2024

Lux is a measure of light intensity; 1 to 6 lux is about the darkness of twilight in the countryside on a clear evening. —Hilary MacHt, EverydayHealth.com, 9 July 2024

Advertisement Food For Subscribers The year that killed L.A. restaurants: Here are more than 65 notable closures from 2023 Dec. 22, 2023 That such an exuberant album arrives in the club’s twilight is telling for modern jazz in L.A. —August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing twilight

• twilight glow
• twilight world
• twilight zone

Kids Definition

twilight

noun

twi·​light ˈtwī-ˌlīt 

: the period or the light from the sky between full night and sunrise or between sunset and full night