crepuscular
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or resembling twilight; dim; indistinct.
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Zoology. appearing or active in the twilight, as certain bats and insects.
adjective
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of or like twilight; dim
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(of certain insects, birds, and other animals) active at twilight or just before dawn
Etymology
Origin of crepuscular
First recorded in 1660–70; crepuscule + -ar 1
Explanation
The adjective crepuscular describes anything that's related to twilight, like the crepuscular glow of the dimming light on a lake as darkness falls. If the light outside is fading, you can call it crepuscular. Anything that resembles dusk, or happens at that time of day, is crepuscular, whether it's gloomy indoor light or the sky at twilight. Some animals are also crepuscular: they tend to be most active in the evening. The Latin root word says it all — crepusculum means "twilight."
Vocabulary lists containing crepuscular
There's A Word for That
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Celestial Words To Mark The Winter Solstice
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Lights Out: Synonyms for "Dark"
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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.
Symbols that the pioneering assemblage artist has been “remixing” for more than seven decades — stars, moons, eyes, hands — emerge in vibrant washes of magenta, teal and her favored crepuscular blues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Moores has taken his drones out as many as 30 times, mostly at night and in the early morning, when thermal imaging works better—and the capybara, a crepuscular species, is most active.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Over on YouTube, their crepuscular 2005 album track Take Me Somewhere Nice has been streamed 85 million times.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2025
As “Women Talking” opens, women assemble in the crepuscular shadows of the barn to decide what they will do: Nothing?
From Washington Post ● Jan. 4, 2023
From Lukla the way to Everest led north through the crepuscular gorge of the Dudh Kosi, an icy, boulder-choked river that churned with glacial runoff.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
