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

Sunrise scene of Seoul downtown city skyline, Aerial view of N Seoul Tower at Namsan Park in twilight sky in morning. —Amala Balakrishner,lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 13 Jan. 2025

Back to Moravia — and his gift for physical description: The courtyard lay deserted in the bleak, subdued twilight of a sultry day. —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 13 Jan. 2025

This hue captures a dark, moody essence that beautifully balances deep blues and subtle grays, reminiscent of twilight skies. —Francois Botha, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025

The details vary depending on your location, but out in the western U.S. and Canada the moon will already be among the Pleiades stars soon after the sun has set and the twilight sky darkens. —Joe Rao, Space.com, 9 Jan. 2025

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