dusk
Day's fading light
Dusk is the time just after sunset when daylight fades but darkness hasn't fully arrived—the transitional period between day and night.
It's dimmer than twilight's beginning but not yet night: We walked home at dusk.
The word can also describe the dim light itself or, figuratively, a period of decline: the dusk of an empire.
Poetic term for dusk
- crepusculePeriod of partial darkness
- eventideArchaic term for dusk
- nightfallOnset of darkness
- sundownDay's end moment
evenfall · afterglow · blue hour · golden hour · crepuscular · twilit · dimming · fading light
Obscured by darkness
veiled · shrouded · hazy · faint · tenebrous · gloomy · nebulous · overcast
Mandated return time
- vespersEvening devotional service
- homewardToward one's dwelling
- closing timeWhen business ends
- sundownerDrink at dusk
evening star · first star · streetlights · porch lights · dinner bell
Untroubled and composed
- tranquilCalm and untroubled
- quietLacking in sound
- stillnessComplete lack of motion
- peacefulFree from disturbance
calm · hush · settling · restful · contemplative · melancholy · wistful · solitude
Moon appearing over horizon
- stargazingObserving celestial bodies
- candlelightLuminescence from burning wick
- loversRomantic partners
- rendezvousScheduled meeting at agreed location
intimate · embrace · serenade · enchanting · tender · stroll · silhouette · hand-holding
Disturbingly strange
- hauntingDisturbingly unforgettable
- lurkingConcealed and watchful
- shadowy figuresIndistinct forms in darkness
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
foreboding · ominous · spectral · ghostly · unknown · secrets · whispers · uncanny
gloaming
Poetic term for dusk
- crepusculePeriod of partial darkness
- eventideArchaic term for dusk
- nightfallOnset of darkness
sundown · evenfall · afterglow · blue hour · golden hour · crepuscular · twilit · dimming · fading light · last light
shadowy
Obscured by darkness
obscure · veiled · shrouded · hazy · faint · tenebrous · gloomy · nebulous · overcast · muted
curfew
Mandated return time
- vespersEvening devotional service
- homewardToward one's dwelling
- closing timeWhen business ends
sundowner · evening star · first star · streetlights · porch lights · dinner bell
serene
Untroubled and composed
peaceful · calm · hush · settling · restful · contemplative · melancholy · wistful · solitude · reflective
moonrise
Moon appearing over horizon
- stargazingObserving celestial bodies
- candlelightLuminescence from burning wick
- loversRomantic partners
rendezvous · intimate · embrace · serenade · enchanting · tender · stroll · silhouette · hand-holding · balcony
eerie
Disturbingly strange
- hauntingDisturbingly unforgettable
- lurkingConcealed and watchful
- shadowy figuresIndistinct forms in darkness
apparition · foreboding · ominous · spectral · ghostly · unknown · secrets · whispers · uncanny · creeping
- Nightmoon, stars, moonlight, starlight, midnight
- skyclouds, blue sky, cloud, sun, moon
- timekeepingclock, watch, watches, clocks, timer
- nighttimemidnight, nightfall, night sky, nighttime, starry sky
- stargazingtelescope, stargazing guides, night sky, stars, constellation
- time conceptsclock, calendar, hour, minute, second
duskbright
Emitting or reflecting light
brightness · brilliance · brilliant · luminous · light
- from dawn to duskDuring all daylight hours
- dusk to dawnSunset to sunrise span
- dawn to duskFull span of daylight
- gathering dusk
- dusk lightIllumination at sundown