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Synonyms

afterglow

American  
[af-ter-gloh, ahf-] / ˈæf tərˌgloʊ, ˈɑf- /

noun

  1. the glow frequently seen in the sky after sunset; afterlight.

  2. a second or secondary glow, as in heated metal before it ceases to become incandescent.

  3. the pleasant remembrance of a past experience, glory, etc..

    She basked in the afterglow of her stage triumph.

  4. phosphorescence.

afterglow British  
/ ˈɑːftəˌɡləʊ /

noun

  1. the glow left after a light has disappeared, such as that sometimes seen after sunset

  2. the glow of an incandescent metal after the source of heat has been removed

  3. physics luminescence persisting on the screen of a cathode-ray tube or in a gas-discharge tube after the power supply has been disconnected

  4. a trace, impression, etc, of past emotion, brilliance, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of afterglow

First recorded in 1870–75; after + glow

Explanation

An afterglow is a strip of rose-colored light in the sky that you sometimes see after the sun goes down. You should look for the afterglow after you watch the sunset. While an afterglow is actually caused by dust in the atmosphere, the radiant, glowing effect in the sky is much more beautiful than this makes it sound. You can also use the word afterglow in a figurative way, to describe the way you feel after something really wonderful happens to you: "I basked in the afterglow that followed my successful opening night on Broadway."

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We lived in the missions’ afterglow, with orange-flavored Tang, syndicated “Star Trek” reruns, and “Star Wars” filling in for actual lunar landings.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

The couple will still be on a high after all the festivities and luxuriating in the afterglow of the love — and cash — bestowed upon them.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

The cosmic microwave background, which is the faint afterglow left behind by the Big Bang, contains valuable information about the early universe.

From Science Daily • Mar. 16, 2026

The afterglow of the unprecedented second state visit can hardly do harm.

From BBC • Sep. 21, 2025

The sun had just gone down, and its afterglow was backlighting the city, which formed low cliffs around the bucolic void to the idle stockyards.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.