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aglow

aglow

7 5.5
Lit with a soft warm light or showing happiness
  • adjective
  • /əˈɡloʊ/
translation icon : brillante
  • After a long day at the beach, her skin was aglow from the sun's warm rays.
  • faces aglow
  • eyes aglow
  • aglow with light

Examples

  • With splendid dawn, your face aglow, I reach for you and find my heart.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The sunlight was shining prettily off the ivy in the courtyard, which was aglow with morning light.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • On the way back inside, I looked up and realized that the night was aglow.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Jimmy and Tommy, both aglow with the moment, look on.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • But the bedroom, now aglow with the rising sun, blotted it out.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The latter was still asleep, her angelic face aglow with sweet, innocent dreams.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Behind a black iron railing, its front lawn was aglow with sweet peas and summer poppies.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • "You give a proper greeting," Rie chided him, but her face was aglow with happiness.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The night sky was aglow with thousands of stars, illuminating the dark landscape.

  • As the sun set, the horizon became aglow with vibrant shades of orange and pink.

Synonyms

bright
vsaglow
459 1.0

Full of strong light that makes a place easy to see

is softer and less intense than strong shining
radiant
vsaglow
64 4.1

Shining or glowing brightly, often seeming very happy

is gentler and less intense than a bright emission
luminous
vsaglow
38 4.8

Shining with a soft steady light like a lantern

is warmer and more visibly radiant than a faint glow
ablaze
vsaglow
14 5.5

On fire or shining brightly with color

is a soft steady illumination rather than firelike burning
glowy
vsaglow
5 5.6

A soft bright look that seems to shine from within

is a simple gentle illumination rather than an appearance of health
alight
vsaglow
4 6.1

Shining with light or small fire, for example candles

is gentler and nonflammable rather than flame lit appearance
lambent
vsaglow
  • Literature
1 9.6

A soft, gentle light that seems to move

is steadier and more gently radiant rather than flickering
lucent
vsaglow
  • Literature
1 8.8

Shining softly and letting light pass through

focuses on surface gentle light rather than light passing through
blazing
vsaglow
1 3.5

Shining very brightly like the sun

is a gentle glow rather than intense brightness
agleam
vsaglow
  • Literature
8.0

Shining with a soft steady light

is more warmly radiant rather than merely subdued shine
lit
vsaglow
1.0

Having enough light to see easily

is a natural gentle shine rather than general produced light
lighted
vsaglow
1.0

Burning and producing a flame

is a soft internal radiance rather than mechanically produced light
aglitter
vsaglow
  • Literature
8.1

Shining with many small bright points of light

is a steady soft glow rather than flashing points of light

Antonyms

1.0

With little or no light and not bright

dim
62 1.0

Not bright and having only a little light

Idioms

1 6.4

Showing bright light or a strong feeling

How Bright

dazzling
39 3.9
aglitter
  • Literature
8.1
aglow
7 5.5
agleam
  • Literature
8.0
faint
148 2.7

Surface Forms

aglow positive
aglower comparative
aglowest superlative

Morphology

aglow = glow (semi-transparent) = a + glow

The connection to 'glow' is clear, but the prefix 'a-' is archaic and not very productive for most learners, so the exact form-meaning mapping is only partly obvious.

Etymology

Aglow is made from the small word a- and the word glow. The a- part means 'on' or 'in' and glow means 'soft light', so aglow means 'full of gentle light' or shining warmly.