Definition of "twilight"

twilight

/ˈtwaɪˌlaɪt/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural twilights
1. 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.
2. The time when this light is visible; the period between daylight and darkness.
  Quotations
  At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap or red tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs.
  1892, Walter Besant, chapter II, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […]
3. Any faint light through which something is seen.
  Quotations
  Two women, Eusabio’s wife and sister, looked on from the deep twilight of the hut.
  1927, Willa Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop, Book VII, section 4, page 233
4. (astronomy) The time when the sun is less than 18° below the horizon.
5. (figurative, by extension) An in-between or fading condition through which something is perceived.
  Quotations
  The twilight […] of probability.
  1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […]
  “They have not enough heart,” said Edith, with a smile. The very twilight of a smile: so singularly were its light and darkness blended.
  1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848
adjective
not comparable
1. Pertaining to or resembling twilight; faintly illuminated; obscure.
  Quotations
  1717, Alexander Pope, “Eloisa to Abelard”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], published 1717
verb
third-person singular simple present twilights, present participle twilighting, simple past and past participle twilit or twilighted
1. (transitive, poetic) To illuminate faintly.

Definition of "twilight"

twilight

noun

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

adjective

Quotations

verb