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View synonyms for dawn

dawn

1

[ dawn ]

noun

  1. the first appearance of daylight in the morning:

    Dawn broke over the valley.

    Synonyms: sunrise, daybreak

    Antonyms: sunset

  2. the beginning or rise of anything; advent:

    the dawn of civilization.



verb (used without object)

  1. to begin to grow light in the morning:

    The day dawned with a cloudless sky.

  2. to begin to open or develop.
  3. to begin to be perceived (usually followed by on ):

    The idea dawned on him.

    Synonyms: break, occur, appear

Dawn

2

[ dawn ]

noun

  1. a female given name.

dawn

/ dɔːn /

noun

  1. daybreak; sunrise auroral
  2. the sky when light first appears in the morning
  3. the beginning of something


verb

  1. to begin to grow light after the night
  2. to begin to develop, appear, or expand
  3. usually foll byon or upon to begin to become apparent (to)

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Derived Forms

  • ˈdawnˌlike, adjective

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Other Words From

  • dawnlike adjective
  • un·dawned adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of dawn1

First recorded before 1150; Middle English dawen (verb), Old English dagian, derivative of dæg day; akin to Old Norse daga, Middle Dutch, Middle Low German dagen, Old High German tagēn

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Word History and Origins

Origin of dawn1

Old English dagian to dawn; see day

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Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with dawn , also see crack of dawn ; light dawned .

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Example Sentences

When the voice assistant was released six years ago, it represented the dawn of a new kind of relationship with personal technology.

Once worn by most women in indigenous communities across the region, these “111” tattoos had all but vanished by the dawn of the millennium like many local symbols and traditions, thanks to centuries of cultural extermination.

From Ozy

“We are witnessing the dawn of a new age,” HP CEO Enrique Lores said at the company’s Reinvent conference this year.

From Fortune

The paper shows that by fully exploring the potential of chemicals that could plausibly have existed at the dawn of life, “you can uncover things that would not have been obvious if you had this narrow view of what you think should have occurred.”

It took workers until shortly before dawn the next day to retrieve Taylor’s body.

Shortly after dawn, there was another outbreak of deadly force.

Andy Serkis, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Do you want to be on the wrong side of history, Academy?

But the dream of a new dawn was short lived—at least a democratic one.

Sarah said that she loves, loves, loves the royal couple and had even gotten up before dawn to watch their 2011 wedding.

Emily Kinney told me that Beth and Dawn understood and respected each other on a certain level.

Things looked anxious for a bit, but by this morning's dawn all are dug in, cool, confident.

Will it ever dawn on Mrs. Dodd's mind, that parsons, even married parsons, are but men?

A certain light was beginning to dawn dimly within her,—the light which, showing the way, forbids it.

From dawn to breakfast time all hands busy slinging shells—modern war sinews—piles of them—aboard.

Though frightened to death, I refused to part with my reserve and made ready to go and take command of it at break of dawn.

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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.

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