Twilight vs. Night — What's the Difference?

Twilight on Earth is the illumination of the lower atmosphere when the Sun is not directly visible because it is below the horizon. Twilight is produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, illuminating the lower atmosphere so that Earth's surface is neither completely lit nor completely dark.

Night (also described as night time or night-time or nighttime, unconventionally spelled as nite) is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends on the location and varies throughout the year, based on factors such as season and latitude.

The diffused light from the sky during the early evening or early morning when the sun is below the horizon and its light is refracted by the earth's atmosphere.

The period between sunset and sunrise, especially the hours of darkness.

The time of the day when the sun is just below the horizon, especially the period between sunset and dark.

This period considered as a unit of time

Dim or diffused illumination.

This period considered from its conditions

A period or condition of decline following growth, glory, or success

The period between dusk and midnight of a given day

A state of ambiguity or obscurity.

The period between evening and bedtime.

The soft light in the sky seen before the rising and (especially) after the setting of the sun, occasioned by the illumination of the earth’s atmosphere by the direct rays of the sun and their reflection on the earth.

This period considered from its activities

The time when this light is visible; the period between daylight and darkness.

This period set aside for a specific purpose

(astronomy) The time when the sun is less than 18° below the horizon.

The period between bedtime and morning

Any faint light through which something is seen; an in-between or fading condition.

One's sleep during this period

Pertaining to or resembling twilight; faintly illuminated; obscure.

Nightfall

To illuminate faintly.

Darkness

The light perceived before the rising, and after the setting, of the sun, or when the sun is less than 18° below the horizon, occasioned by the illumination of the earth's atmosphere by the direct rays of the sun and their reflection on the earth.

A time or condition of gloom, obscurity, ignorance, or despair

Faint light; a dubious or uncertain medium through which anything is viewed.

A time or condition marked by absence of moral or ethical values

Seen or done by twilight.

Of or relating to the night

Imperfectly illuminated; shaded; obscure.

Intended for use at night

The time of day immediately following sunset;

Working during the night

The diffused light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon but its rays are refracted by the atmosphere of the earth

Active chiefly at night

A condition of decline following successes;

Occurring after dark

Lighted by or as if by twilight;

(countable) The period between sunset and sunrise, when a location faces far away from the sun, thus when the sky is dark.

The period of darkness beginning at the end of evening astronomical twilight when the sun is 18 degrees below the horizon, and ending at the beginning of morning astronomical twilight.

A period of time often defined in the legal system as beginning 30 minutes after sunset, and ending 30 minutes before sunrise.

(countable) An evening or night spent at a particular activity.

(countable) A night (and part of the days before and after it) spent in a place away from home, e.g. a hotel.

(uncountable) Nightfall.

(uncountable) Darkness (due to it being nighttime).

(uncountable) A dark blue colour, midnight blue.

A night's worth of competitions, generally one game.

Ellipsis of good night

To spend a night (in a place), to overnight.

That part of the natural day when the sun is beneath the horizon, or the time from sunset to sunrise; esp., the time between dusk and dawn, when there is no light of the sun, but only moonlight, starlight, or artificial light.

Darkness; obscurity; concealment.

Intellectual and moral darkness; ignorance.

A lifeless or unenlivened period, as when nature seems to sleep.

The time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside

The time between sunset and midnight;

The period spent sleeping;

The dark part of the diurnal cycle considered a time unit;

Darkness;

A shortening of nightfall;

A period of ignorance or backwardness or gloom

Roman goddess of night; daughter of Erebus; counterpart of Greek Nyx