Meanings
sunrise1
plural sunrises
- countableuncountableThe time of day when the sun appears above the eastern horizon.
I'll meet you at the docks at sunrise.
Synonyms: sunup, daybreak, sparrow-fart, ass crack of dawn, break, break of dawn, break of day, butt crack of dawn · Antonyms: sunset, sundown, cockshut, crepusculum, dark, dimmity, duckish, dusk
- countablefigurativelyuncountableAny great awakening.
It was the sunrise of her spirit.
2 more examples
Her face shone for a moment with new and unearthly splendour, her eyes lighted up with a very sunrise of joy.
1915, Mrs. Hugh Fraser, Storied ItalyIt is in its zenith at mid-June, a very sunrise of Nature; and what with its forest and flower- fringed shores, its palace homes and parks, each with its white-winged or canopied yacht for skimming the lake at will, it at once occurred to me that Paradise had already been discovered and appropriated by Lake Geneva loiterers.
1898, F. R. Chandler, The Story of Lake Geneva, Or, Summer Homes for City PeopleAntonyms: sunset
present singular third person sunrises · participle present sunrising · participle past sunrised · past sunrised
- idiomaticintransitiverareTo awake.
As I "sunrised" and breakfasted, I saw the party of men and women that had come to Horse Camp with the pack-train filing up the long slope below.
1924, Claude Ewing Rusk, Tales Of A Western Mountaineer, A Record of Mountain Experiences on the Pacific Coast, page 301 - idiomaticraretransitiveTo cheer up, brighten, or illuminate.
"That would be nice of you." She sunrised him again with her smile.
1981, Hugh Zachary, To Guard The Right, page 63
Sunrise2
- A number of places in the United States:
- A city in Broward County, Florida.
- A neighbourhood of the city of Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California.
- A township and unincorporated community therein, in Chisago County, Minnesota.
- A ghost town in Platte County, Wyoming.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe time of day when the sun appears above the eastern horizon.
nounThe change in color of the sky at dawn.
nounAny great awakening.
verbTo phase in.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveof an industry or technology; new and developing
nounthe first light of day
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishsonne-rys
- Englishsunrise
From Middle English sonne-rys, sunne ryse, equivalent to sun + rise. Compare Middle English son risyng, sunne rijsyng, sonne-rysing (“sunrise”, literally “sun rising”).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans sonopkoms, sonop
- sonopkomstime of day
- sonoptime of day
Arabic شُرُوق, شُرُوق الشَّمْس
- شُرُوق (šurūq)time of day
- شُرُوق الشَّمْس (šurūq aš-šams)time of day
- بُكُور (bukūr)time of day
- غُدْوَة (ḡudwa)time of day
- شُرُوق (šurūq)figurative awakening
- صَحْوَة (ṣaḥwa)figurative awakening
Bulgarian и́згрев, зора́
- и́згрев (ízgrev)time of day
- зора́ (zorá)sky changing color
- и́згрев (ízgrev)sky changing color
- просвеще́ние (prosvešténie)figurative awakening
Catalan sortida de sol
- sortida de soltime of day
Chinese Cantonese 日出
- 日出 (jat⁶ ceot¹)time of day
Chinese Mandarin 日出
- 日出 (rìchū)time of day
Czech východ slunce
- východ sluncetime of day
Danish solopgang, solopgang
- solopgangtime of day
- solopgangsky changing color
Dutch zonsopgang, zonsopkomst
- zonsopgangtime of day
- zonsopkomsttime of day
- ochtendglorentime of day
- zonsopgangsky changing color
Esperanto sunleviĝo
- sunleviĝotime of day
Estonian päikesetõus, koit
- päikesetõustime of day
- koittime of day
- koidiktime of day
- päikesetõussky changing color
- koitsky changing color
- koitfigurative awakening
Finnish auringonnousu, päivänkoite
- auringonnousutime of day
- päivänkoitetime of day
- päivännousutime of day
- päivänkoitime of day
- aamunkoitime of day
- aamuruskosky changing color
French lever du soleil, potron-minet
- lever du soleiltime of day
- potron-minettime of day
German Sonnenaufgang, Sonnenaufgang
- Sonnenaufgangtime of day
- Sonnenaufgangsky changing color
Greek ανατολή
- ανατολή (anatolí)time of day
Hebrew זריחה \ זְרִיחָה, זריחה \ זְרִיחָה
- זריחה \ זְרִיחָה (zrikhá)time of day
- זריחה \ זְרִיחָה (zrikhá)sky changing color
Hindi सूर्योदय
- सूर्योदय (sūryoday)time of day
Hungarian napkelte, napfelkelte
- napkeltetime of day
- napfelkeltetime of day
- hajnalhasadássky changing color
Icelandic sólarupprás, dögun
- sólarupprástime of day
- dögunfigurative awakening
Indonesian matahari terbit, mentari terbit
- matahari terbittime of day
- mentari terbittime of day
- mentari hiduptime of day
- fajarsky changing color
- fajar menyingsingsky changing color
- kebangkitanfigurative awakening
Irish éirí gréine (na)
- éirí gréine (na)time of day
Italian levar del sole, levata del sole
- levar del soletime of day
- levata del soletime of day
- auroratime of day
- albatime of day
- primo soletime of day
- sorgere del soletime of day
- aurorasky changing color
- albafigurative awakening
- aurorafigurative awakening
- risvegliofigurative awakening
Japanese 日の出, 日出
- 日の出 (hi no de)time of day
- 日出 (nisshutsu)time of day
- 朝焼け (asayake)sky changing color
Korean 해돋이, 일출
- 해돋이 (haedoji)time of day
- 일출 (ilchul)time of day
- 아침놀 (achimnol)sky changing color
Latin oriēns, aurōra
- oriēnstime of day
- aurōratime of day
- ortustime of day
- aurōrasky changing color
Latvian saullēkts
- saullēktstime of day
Lithuanian aušra, saulėtekis
- aušratime of day
- saulėtekistime of day
Malay matahari terbit
- matahari terbittime of day
Norwegian Bokmål soloppgang, solrenning
- soloppgangtime of day
- solrenningtime of day
- soloppgangsky changing color
Polish wschód słońca
- wschód słońcatime of day
Portuguese nascer do sol, aurora
- nascer do soltime of day
- auroratime of day
- aurorasky changing color
Romanian răsărit de soare, crăparea zilei
- răsărit de soaretime of day
- crăparea zileisky changing color
- realizarefigurative awakening
- trezirefigurative awakening
Russian восхо́д со́лнца, заря́
- восхо́д со́лнца (vosxód sólnca)time of day
- заря́time of day
- рассве́т (rassvét)time of day
- восхо́д (vosxód)time of day
- заря́ (zarjá)sky changing color
- рассве́т (rassvét)sky changing color
Scottish Gaelic èirigh na grèine, èirigh na grèine
- èirigh na grèinetime of day
- èirigh na grèinesky changing color
Slovak východ slnka
- východ slnkatime of day
Spanish salida del sol, salida de sol
- salida del soltime of day
- salida de soltime of day
- salida solartime of day
- ortotime of day
- salida del solsky changing color
- salida de solsky changing color
- salida solarsky changing color
- ortosky changing color
- amanecerfigurative awakening
- despertarfigurative awakening
- despiertofigurative awakening
- surgimientofigurative awakening
Swahili macheo
- macheotime of day
Swedish soluppgång, soluppgång
- soluppgångtime of day
- soluppgångsky changing color
Thai ตะวันขึ้น, อรุณ
- ตะวันขึ้นtime of day
- อรุณ (à-run)time of day
- ยามเช้าtime of day
- เช้ามืด (cháao-mʉ̂ʉt)time of day
Turkish güneş doğması, güneş doğuşu
- güneş doğmasıtime of day
- güneş doğuşutime of day
Ukrainian схід со́нця, зоря́
- схід со́нця (sxid sóncja)time of day
- зоря́ (zorjá)sky changing color
- зірни́ця (zirnýcja)sky changing color
- світа́нок (svitánok)sky changing color
- світа́ння (svitánnja)sky changing color
Urdu طُلُوع, طُلوعِ آفْتاب
- طُلُوع (tulū')time of day
- طُلوعِ آفْتاب (tulo'-i āftāb)time of day
Vietnamese bình minh
- bình minhtime of day
Welsh codiad haul
- codiad haultime of day
Yiddish זונאויפֿגאַנג
- זונאויפֿגאַנג (zunoyfgang)time of day
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
sunrise. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sunrise
“sunrise.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sunrise. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sunrise,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sunrise.
Source: sunrise on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.