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twilight

twilight

3 4.4
Light that is soft and dim like at sunset or sunrise
  • adjective
  • /ˈtwaɪlaɪt/
: crepuscular
  • The artist captured the beauty of the twilight sky in her painting, using gentle hues of purple and orange.
  • twilight sky
  • long twilight

Examples

  • The building framed against a twilight sky.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • He got dressed, and when he went out into the street, it was already twilight.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Beneath an overcast sky, it was already twilight.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • It was already twilight by then, the sun gone below the horizon, its failing light a faint shimmer against the ocean's waters.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • It would be twilight, and the white Alaskan ferryboat would be rolling in the long ocean troughs as I stood at the rail with a pint of whiskey in my hand and watched the cedar-tree mountains turn to night under the snowy mountains beyond to the east.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The garden looked magical in the twilight, casting a soft glow over the flowers.

  • As the sun began to set, the room was filled with a twilight ambiance, making it feel cozy and warm.

Synonyms

dusky
vstwilight
9 4.7

Dim light like the sky just after the sun goes down

is more specifically soft and faint rather than heavily shadowed
twilit
vstwilight
1 8.4

Having dim, soft light like the sky just after sunset

is the exact term for faint soft light seen at dusk
crepuscular
vstwilight
  • Literature
1 9.9

Soft dim light seen at twilight

is the more neutral everyday word for that faint soft light

Antonyms

510 1.0

Full of strong light that makes a place easy to see

17 4.2

Lit up by electric lights so it can be seen at night

Compounds

twilight zone
  • Informal
16 7.7

An unclear or strange situation between two states

The time after the sun goes down when the sky is partly light

twilight sleep
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A state when medicine makes a person partly awake during childbirth

1 9.9

A Norse myth about the final battle that destroys the gods

A walk outside when the sun is setting and the light is fading

twilight zone
  • Specialized
1 7.5

The ocean layer below the surface where only faint light reaches

To see well in low light, for example at dusk or in moonlight

How Bright

bright
510 1.0
twilight
3 4.4
dim
74 1.0
dark
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

twilight positive

Etymology

The adjective twilight also comes from twi- 'two' and light, meaning the faint light between day and night, so something described as 'twilight' is dim and softly lit as if the sun is almost gone.