dawn
//dɔːn//
Forms
- present (v1)
- dawn
- past (v2)
- dawned
- past participle (v3)
- dawned
- present participle
- dawning
- 3rd person singular
- dawns
- Plural
- dawns
Definitions
1.To begin to brighten with daylight.
- In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene[…]to see the sepulchre.
2.To start to appear or become obvious.
- I don’t want to be there when the truth dawns on him.
- The realization dawned on him that few would pass that final exam.
- Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.
3.To begin to give promise; to begin to appear or to expand.
- Leave the time of war behind and let a time of peace dawn!
1.The morning twilight period immediately before sunrise.
2.The rising of the sun.
- Every act of a Roman, from birth to death, from dawn to night, was controlled and supervised by some presiding deity.
3.The time when the sun rises.
- She rose before dawn to meet the train.
4.The earliest phase of something.
- The dawn of civilization didn't imply twilight of barbarity.
Frequency
Overall
Rare· #4628
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Rare
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
From Middle English dawnen, either a back-formation from dawnynge or a modification of dawen (“to dawn”) after it.
The noun is from the verb.