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

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

By the time we’re situated in our boats, the sun isn’t quite up, but twilight is in full swing. —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 11 Mar. 2025

Popping out of the evening twilight in the fairly low western skies will be Venus. —Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 2 Mar. 2025

In February, the darkness of the polar night was nearly absolute, and not even photons from a bright moon or fleeting twilight could reach the dark waters below. —Asher Elbein, WIRED, 2 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