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Showing results for hard light. Search instead for Hard+Plight.

hard light

American  

noun

Cinematography.
  1. directed light, especially light whose beams are relatively parallel, producing distinct shadows and a harsher modeling effect on the subject.


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.

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“The light in the sky is actually bouncing off the clouds, so the clouds are a diffusion rather than a straight-up hard light source.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026

One wears sprinkles like confetti or a glaze sticky as the night and waits under hard light at an airport coffee counter.

From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2026

His natural instinct is to seek out the untold, unflattering story, to shine the cold, hard light of reality on a guy who seems too good to be true.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2019

“This is why I didn’t come down sooner. I’ve got an upgrade for Ami, Alex. You remember hard light, yes?” she managed a knowing smile.

From The Verge ● Feb. 13, 2019

People got meaner, stuck beneath all that hard light and stone.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

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