twilight
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
The soft light in the sky seen before the rising and after the setting of the sun.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
twylytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtwaɪlaɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The soft light in the sky seen before the rising and (especially) after the setting of the sun, occasioned by the illumination of the earth's atmosphere by the direct rays of the sun and their reflection on the earth.
Any faint light through which something is seen.
The time when said light is visible; the period between daylight and darkness.
figurativeby extension
An in-between or fading condition through which something is perceived.
adjective
Pertaining to or resembling twilight; faintly illuminated; obscure.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The soft light in the sky seen before the rising and (especially) after the setting of the sun, occasioned by the illumination of the earth's atmosphere by the direct rays of the sun and their reflection on the earth.
Used this way, twilight is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This sense is used where position and measurement matter — travel, weather and flight — so it reads as factual rather than emotive.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Geography/travel
- Weather/aviation
- Technical/specialist writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use twilight
- “He loved the twilight.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Myth about the ultimate destruction of the gods in a battle with evil.
The ability to see in reduced illumination (as in moonlight).
The lowest level of the ocean to which light can reach.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: pertaining to or resembling twilight
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.