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

Several key figures - see Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Kyle Walker - are now into the twilights of their respective careers and so Guardiola’s team have been unable to play its usual style of high-energy, high-intensity soccer. —Graham Ruthven, Forbes.com, 30 Mar. 2025

Getting to work with Jacobson again in the twilight of his career has been a thrill, Sirott said. —Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2025

From March 5 through March 10, Mercury will set at, or shortly after the end of evening twilight, more than 1 hour 30 minutes after sunset for mid-northern latitudes. —Joe Rao, Space.com, 26 Feb. 2025

Last Chance To See Venus What's already happened to Saturn is about to happen to Venus, the brightest and most impressive star in the twilight night sky. —Jamie Carter, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing twilight

• twilight glow
• twilight world
• twilight zone

Rhymes for twilight

• affright
• airtight
• albite
• alight
• alright
• aplite
• aright
• bainite
• birthright
• bobwhite
• bornite
• bullfight

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