dawning

American  

[daw-ning] / ˈdɔ nɪŋ /

noun

1. daybreak; dawn.

2. beginning; start.

   the dawning of the space age.

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Other Word Forms

• undawning
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of dawning

Middle English; see dawn, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

For all of us wondering when an ugly time will fade, the moment will resonate like a cautious, dawning hope.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

Graham Burnett, a history professor at Princeton University, sees "the dawning of an authentic movement," similar to the birth of the environmental movement in the 1960s, which led to landmark environmental protections.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

This might be a dawning moment, when the golfing world realises that someone capable of winning a record-equalling 82 PGA Tour titles might not be the best qualified to shape its future.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

I went to my binder of go-to seasonal recipes and realized, with a kind of dawning horror, that nearly all of them leaned on it.

From Salon • Mar. 25, 2026

For them, it was a dawning, the first real hint of hope.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown