twilight

noun, often attributive twi·light \ ˈtwī-ˌlīt \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Definition of twilight

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

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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 of twilight from the Web

Only his 52-year old jockey, who has reached the peak of his powers in the twilight of his career, added much sentimental value to the story.

— dan wolken, USA TODAY, "Justify goes wire to wire in Belmont Stakes to win Triple Crown," 9 June 2018
Civil twilight provides enough lumens to read a book outside, pull weeds in your garden or anticipate bumps on a path of sodden wood chips.

— ned rozell, Anchorage Daily News, "What it’s like to run circles for 24 hours around the land of no night," 9 June 2018
In the twilight of their careers, Mr. Ferlinghetti and Mr. Lord are both keeping busy.

— alexandra alter, New York Times, "At 99, the Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti Has a New Novel," 6 June 2018
One of his favorite memories is walking across the street to play three holes of golf in twilight before dinner with his dad and younger brother David.

— hannah kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "What life is like when your father is the 'Daddy-O of SpaghettiOs,' Waukesha native Donald Goerke," 6 June 2018
In the sweltering twilight on their school's football field, 328 seniors at a Southeast Texas high school received their diplomas Friday with memories of a deadly mass shooting fresh in their minds.

— CBS News, "Santa Fe High School students graduate 2 weeks after deadly mass shooting," 3 June 2018
James — the twilight sad (@thetwilightsad) May 30, 2018 Hutchison, 36, was found dead last month after going missing on May 9.

— gil kaufman, Billboard, "The Twilight Sad Pay Tribute to Frightened Rabbit's Scott Hutchison at Primavera Sound Festival: 'I Want to Do My Friend Proud'," 1 June 2018
There is a hue of exhaustion to the twilight in Monterrey.

— tom chiarella and james lynch, Popular Mechanics, "The Last Shift: What Really Happened To Those Carrier Jobs Trump Saved," 15 May 2018
Now, in the twilight of their careers — Woods is 42 and Mickelson turns 48 next month — the rivalry carries a friendlier, funnier vibe.

— ron kroichick, San Francisco Chronicle, "Tiger-Phil match sounds mighty tantalizing," 9 May 2018

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