Synonyms of alight

alight 1 of 2

adjective

1

as in illuminated

filled with much light

we approached the clearing, alight with torches, and observed a reenactment of ancient rites by Druids

Synonyms & Similar Words

• illuminated
• lit
• illumined
• light
• bright
• brightened
• ablaze
• lightsome
• ignited
• highlighted
• shiny
• kindled
• spotlighted
• sunny
• floodlit
• moonlit
• sunlit
• sunshiny

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• darkened
• blackened
• dusk
• dark
• dusky
• unlit
• dimmed
• darkling
• lightless
• pitch-dark
• pitch-black
• darkish
• gloomy
• somber
• obscured
• shadowy
• pale
• tenebrous
• cloudy
• leaden
• murky
• gray
• sunless
• shadowlike
• lightproof

2

as in burning

chiefly British being on fire

the pub, one of London's oldest, was completely alight by the time firefighters arrived

Synonyms & Similar Words

• burning
• blazing
• flaming
• aflame
• lit
• flickering
• ignited
• afire
• smoldering
• kindled
• burned
• fiery
• inflamed
• glowing
• charred
• ablaze
• combusting
• aglow
• conflagrant
• live
• flaring
• searing
• scorching
• scorched
• hot
• sizzling
• broiling
• seared
• roasting
• singed
• red-hot
• piping hot
• scalding
• incinerated

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• extinguished
• quenched
• dead
• choked
• smothered
• damped
• stamped (out)
• snuffed (out)
• doused
• suffocated

alight

2 of 2

verb

ə-ˈlīt 

1

as in to perch

to come to rest after descending from the air

a flock of eight swans circled above, then alighted on the pond

Synonyms & Similar Words

• perch
• land
• light
• roost
• touch down
• settle
• crash-land
• belly-land

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rise
• arise
• take off
• ascend
• climb
• plane
• fly
• wing
• soar
• float
• blast off
• glide
• hang
• hover

2

as in to descend

to come down from something (as a vehicle)

as she alighted from the train, she momentarily lost her footing

Synonyms & Similar Words

• descend
• dismount
• disembark
• light
• get down
• detrain
• deplane

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• embark
• get in
• mount
• board
• climb (aboard)
• entrain
• enplane

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of alight

Adjective

Multiple people, including children, died when a gunman opened fire at a Billings, Montana, home that was then set alight, authorities said Monday. — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 25 Aug. 2026

Moe then reportedly set the firework alight while the child was holding on to it and the device erupted in her hand, per the outlet, citing a complaint. — Gina Kalsi, PEOPLE, 14 Aug. 2026

Verb

Once a recipe is chosen, clientele relax; zoning out in nearby chairs as glass tubes alight and the machine purrs from within. — Rebecca Leib, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026

Foliage-seekers can alight in the town of Winona, Minnesota, located on an island in the Mississippi—where visitors hike, kayak, or fish amid craggy river bluffs carpeted with ever-changing treetops. — Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Sep. 2026