twilight

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

twilight

/ˈtwaɪˌlaɪt/

Where it comes from

PIE word

*dwóh₁

From Middle English twilight, twyelyghte, equivalent to twi- (“double, half-”) + light, literally ‘second light, half-light’. Cognate to Scots twa licht, twylicht, twielicht (“twilight”), Low German twilecht, twelecht (“twilight”), Dutch tweelicht (“twilight, dusk”), German Zwielicht (“twilight, dusk”). Compare Old English twēone lēoht (“twilight”).

noun twilights

countable, uncountable 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. Near-synonym: half-light
Similar: half-light
countable, uncountable The time when said light is visible; the period between daylight and darkness. It was twilight by the time I got back home.
Similar: blue hour
countable, uncountable Any faint light through which something is seen. Two women, Eusabio’s wife and sister, looked on from the deep twilight of the hut.
countable, uncountable The time when the sun is less than 18° below the horizon.
broadly, countable, figuratively, uncountable An in-between or fading condition through which something is perceived. The twilight of one's life

adjective

not comparable Pertaining to or resembling twilight; faintly illuminated; obscure.
not comparable Synonym of mesopelagic (“Describing the pelagic zone of the ocean between the photic epipelagic and the aphotic bathypelagic zones, characterized by very minimal light.”) twilight zone
Similar: mesopelagic

verb twilights · twilighting · twilit · twilighted

poetic, transitive To illuminate faintly.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: dusk, gloaming, twilit, evenfall, nightfall, dark, fall, dusky, stars, light, sunset, sundown, dawn, evening, nebulous, grey

noun

Translations

Every language

noun light before rising and after the setting of the Sun

Español	crepúsculo
한국어	어스름 eoseureum, 황혼 hwanghon
日本語	夕暮れ yūgure, 黄昏
हिन्दी	गोधूलि godhūli, झुटपुटा jhuṭpuṭā, सांध्य प्रकाश sāndhya prakāś, द्वाभा dvābhā, धुंधलका dhundhalkā, संध्या sandhyā
Português	crepúsculo, lusco-fusco
Français	demi-jour, crépuscule
Deutsch	Zwielicht, Dämmerung
Italiano	crepuscolo
Ελληνικά	σούρουπο soúroupo
Română	amurg, crepuscul, zori
Русский	су́мерки súmerki, су́мрак súmrak
Tiếng Việt	hoàng hôn, bình minh
العربية	شَفَق šafaq
עברית	דִּימְדּוּמִים

noun evening twilight

Español	crepúsculo
한국어	황혼 hwanghon, 땅거미 ttanggeomi, 어스름 eoseureum
中文	黃昏 /黄昏 huánghūn, 薄暮 bómù
हिन्दी	गोधूलि godhūli, झुटपुटा jhuṭpuṭā, सांध्य प्रकाश sāndhya prakāś, द्वाभा dvābhā, धुंधलका dhundhalkā, संध्या sandhyā
Português	crepúsculo
Français	crépuscule, entre chien et loup
Deutsch	Dämmerung, Abenddämmerung
Italiano	crepuscolo
Ελληνικά	σούρουπο soúroupo, λυκόφως lykófos
Română	amurg, crepuscul
Русский	су́мерки súmerki
עברית	בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת

noun faint light; dubious medium

Español	penumbra
日本語	薄明かり usuakari
Português	penumbra, meia-luz
Français	pénombre, brumes
Deutsch	Zwielicht, Halbdunkel
Italiano	crepuscolo, penombra
Ελληνικά	μισοσκόταδο misoskótado
Română	crepuscul
Русский	су́мерки súmerki, су́мрак súmrak, полумра́к polumrák, потёмки potjómki

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"twilight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/twilight. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

twilight. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/twilight

Chicago

"twilight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/twilight.

BibTeX

@misc{twilight_2026,
  title = {twilight},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/twilight},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}