HALF-LIGHT Synonyms: 56 Similar and Opposite Words

half-light

noun

Definition of half-light

as in shadows

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of half-light Right now, in high summer, find me on a stool in the nook’s half-light sipping a cocktail simply called Peach. — Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026 Each morning at the crack of dawn, in one of the great Instagram moments of our time, 165 enormous balloons begin to swell in Cappadocia's half-light, their burners briefly illuminating the valley floor. — Scott Campbell, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Sep. 2026 The leaf canopy was so dense that at times only a half-light, a sort of dusky murk, penetrated to the forest floor where the hounds ran. — Paul Schullery, Outdoor Life, 13 Aug. 2026 Start with a stripe down the middle, then mow in a figure eight to get that half-dark, half-light tuxedo look, or, my preferred method, loop around like a Zamboni until you're done. — CBS News, 1 May 2026 Antarctica in mid-winter is bathed in a dusky half-light or shrouded in darkness, with the sun's orbit ensuring the warming rays no longer reach the icy landmass. — Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 June 2025 The play has a beautiful opening, in which a singer played by Georgia Heers appears in a hazy cone of half-light behind a golden curtain. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2025 The world these characters inhabit, within an enclave of Flushing, Queens, is a place of in-between, captured in the evocative half-light of Norm Li’s cinematography, suggesting the cool-hot glow of the title’s blue sun. — Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 May 2024 The courtyard of the Four Seasons Washington DC is hot in the late July half-light. — Nick Remsen, Vogue, 23 Aug. 2023

Recent Examples of Synonyms for half-light

Noun

Films can end up looking too bright or too clean, revealing details in the shadows that Kubrick never intended audiences to see.

— Zac Ntim, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2026
The man’s collarbones no longer cast deep shadows at the base of his neck, Shawn noticed.

— Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of shadows

Noun

One of the best things to come from the recent renovation was Notch8, the new lobby-level bar and restaurant, which serves excellent drinks in a dark, loungey atmosphere.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
Look east and southeast after dark for the Great Square of Pegasus — four moderately bright stars (Scheat, Alpheratz, Markab and Algenib) outlining an enormous square.

— Jamie Carter, Space.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of dark

Noun

The Halifax surged forward into blackness, each second narrowing the distance between flight and catastrophe.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
The surf was raging, completely enveloping the craft with only the swaying masts visible in the blackness of the night.

— CBS News, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of blackness

Noun

Arizona led 2-1 in the third before the Padres went in front on Ty France's RBI groundout and Gavin Sheets' RBI double that center fielder Tim Tawa lost in the lights and twilight sky.

— ABC News, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026
And at twilight, New Orleans bandleader and composer Jon Batiste delivered a contagious tour-de-force of joy and struggle, careening from ragtime classics to contemporary numbers.

— Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of twilight

Noun

From its first painterly images, of the face of Meryl Streep, sad and tender and lovely in the semidarkness, the film declares its artistry, its sensitivity and its theme.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2023
Now, in the semidarkness and the throng of guests, all names seem somehow fluid, interchangeable, secondary.

— Olga Tokarczuk, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2021

Definition of semidarkness

Noun

The 6-inch light features a gold-tone frame, dangling crystal-like accents, and candle-style LEDs that deliver either a steady glow or a flickering-flame mode that mimics real candlelight for a vintage-glam look.

— Better Homes & Gardens, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Sep. 2026
Like many of the best rooms in New York, the Lillie Langtry Room at Keens Steakhouse on Thursday night was glowing amber with candlelight—and overflowing with martinis, cheek kisses, and conversation.

— Anna Grace Lee, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of candlelight

Noun

Effigies of Ravana—often along with those of Ravana’s son Meghanada (also known as Indrajit) and Ravana’s brother Kumbhakarna—are stuffed with firecrackers and set ablaze at dusk in open fields.

— Tamanna Nangia, Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Oct. 2026
Shawn and his father found the man on the easternmost coast of their island shortly after dusk, when the sky was drained of almost all its orange light and the waves had grown dark, topped with an eerie froth.

— Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of dusk

Noun

The mirror’s surface turned suddenly iridescent, like an oil slick beneath a gloaming.

— Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 22 Jan. 2026
There is an excellent chance that one of the world’s two best golfers will be sliding his arms into a green jacket in the sweet gloaming of Sunday evening just outside the Augusta National clubhouse.

— Jason Sobel, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025

Definition of gloaming

Browse Nearby Words

half-lifes

half-light

halfpence

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Style

“Half-light.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/half-light. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of half-light

noun

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