alight 1 of 2

alight

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to perch
to come to rest after descending from the air a flock of eight swans circled above, then alighted on the pond

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in to descend
to come down from something (as a vehicle) as she alighted from the train, she momentarily lost her footing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of alight
Adjective
Then Samsung’s massive screens at the SAP Center (home of the hockey team San Jose Sharks) were alight with a video of phone components snapping into place and, finally, the back and front clicking into place with punchy haste, to emphasize one aspect of the phone: its thinness. David Phelan, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025 Hussain’s comments section was alight with feedback from Hartwell, as well as season 2 stars Kyle Abrams and Shayne Jansen, who were briefly engaged on the show to Shaina Hurley and Natalie Lee, respectively. Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2025
Verb
This fall, a 16-foot-tall pigeon — its chest puffed out proudly, head high, not down pecking at some errant pizza crust, its pitiless red-eye gaze looking out over the traffic — will alight on the spur of the High Line that bridges Tenth Avenue at 30th Street. Carl Swanson, Curbed, 31 July 2024 After an interlude, two juveniles came prancing down the vines, hopping along to alight on the parkia. Jessica Camille Aguirre, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for alight 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for alight
Adjective
  • Ben Johnson has a ‘burning desire’ to be a head coach.
    Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2025
  • For answers to more burning questions about Season 2, plus Season 3 clues (including which Season 1 character will be coming back), read Deadline’s interview with The Night Agent showrunner Shawn Ryan.
    Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 24 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Visiting the Vatican City masterpiece is not the same, Watts argues, as witnessing the artist perched on scaffolding in the act of creation.
    David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2025
  • Weedman Design Partners This home remodel by Weedman Design Partners was devised to embrace its natural surroundings, perched on a lake near the Oregon coast.
    Elizabeth Stamp, Architectural Digest, 10 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Witnesses said they were caught off-guard by the agents descending on their homes and that many hid in their apartments, afraid federal agents would barge in.
    Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 6 Feb. 2025
  • The night of Charlotte FC’s inaugural home match — March 5, 2022 — when over 74,000 people descended on Bank of America Stadium and made for one of the most special nights in the city’s sports history.
    Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 5 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Use fire itself, not as a flaming wood chipper, but as a transmuting presence to which much of the landscape may already be adapted, a process that can massage the biota, not just blast it away.
    Stephen A. Pyne, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Jan. 2025
  • Flo Milli is closing out 2024 with yet another flaming hot freestyle.
    Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 10 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • The passengers survive a terrible storm before landing where they will be mistreated.
    Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2025
  • The fact that breakout Borisov landed those supporting nods is a sign of strength for the movie.
    Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 9 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Considered one of the best bull riders of all time, Lane Frost was tragically killed in 1989 at the age of 25 after dismounting a bull at Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.
    Marc Berman, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
  • The initial assaults over the weekend involved dismounted infantry walking in neat lines across snowy fields without much apparent support from artillery or aircraft.
    David Axe, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Come for Menzel — who is a blazing force — and stay for the incredible ensemble, earwormy score and inventive stage setting.
    Raven Brunner, People.com, 14 Feb. 2025
  • The male has a dark blue head, vibrant green back and a blazing red chest, belly, and rump.
    Stan Tekiela, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • The clip then cuts to Millington sitting quietly at home in a robe, repeatedly lighting a candle that her smiling son keeps blowing out for his own amusement.
    Kristan Hawkins, Newsweek, 7 Feb. 2025
  • In a black turtleneck and thick black spectacles, actor Chris Pratt ponders the walls of a gallery, where a banana has been duct taped and lit dramatically by an elegant square of light.
    Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 7 Feb. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near alight

Cite this Entry

“Alight.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/alight. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.

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