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

At 33 years old, Virgil van Dijk is into the twilight of his career. —Graham Ruthven, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2024

Guests can pick their adventure by choosing an afternoon or a twilight tour with the big cats. —Joe Rassel, Orlando Sentinel, 13 Nov. 2024

And don’t forget to look to the west at twilight to catch a glimpse of the passing Comet A3, nicknamed Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, which is on its way out of our solar system. —Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Oct. 2024

These and other organic molecules likely formed in the twilight years of the earliest stars, perhaps as early as a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. —Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 13 Nov. 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