sunsets
sunsets — noun
- sunsetssingular
- sunsetsesplural
1. the time each evening when the sun sinks out of sight and the daylight slowly fa
the time each evening when the sun sinks out of sight and the daylight slowly fades.
In summer, the village children play outside until sunset every single day.
until sunset for the time the sun drops below the sky
The hikers reached the stone mountain hut just after sunset, as the last light faded.
Over many years, Mauricio has photographed hundreds of sunsets from his rooftop.
Boats must leave the lake before sunset, when the water turns dark.
The harvest festival ends each year with drums and dancing as daylight fades at sunset.
文法句型
at sunset
before/after sunset
用法筆記
Often used without an article in time phrases such as 'at sunset', 'before sunset', 'after sunset'. The plural 'sunsets' names the same daily event happening on different days.
常見錯誤
2. the bright orange and pink colours that fill the sky while the sun is setting.
the bright orange and pink colours that fill the sky while the sun is setting.
Tourists gathered on the beach to watch a glowing pink sunset over the sea.
a [colour] sunset for the look of the evening sky
The painter tried to capture the deep red sunsets of the desert on canvas.
plural 'sunsets' for repeated colourful skies
From the plane window, Anjali admired an orange sunset stretching across the clouds.
The top-floor hotel rooms offer the best red-and-gold sunsets in the whole city.
文法句型
a red/golden sunset
sunset over [place]
用法筆記
Usually countable and often paired with a colour word (a red, pink, or golden sunset). Distinguish from sense 1, which names the time of day rather than the look of the sky.
sunsets — adjective
- sunsetspositive
- more sunsetscomparative
- most sunsetssuperlative
1. describing a law, rule, or contract clause that automatically ends on a set date
describing a law, rule, or contract clause that automatically ends on a set date unless it is officially renewed.
Senator Adeyemi's privacy act includes a sunset clause that ends the law after five years.
'sunset clause' for a rule that expires by itself
Brazil's lawmakers added a sunset provision so the new fuel tax would not last forever.
'sunset provision' in a piece of legislation
Without a sunset clause, Italy's old wartime rules quietly stayed in force for decades.
The budget committee preferred a sunset law that Congress must vote to renew each decade.
- expiring
more general; about anything coming to an end
- time-limited
plain-English equivalent without the legal flavour
- permanent
meant to last with no end date built in
文法句型
sunset clause
sunset provision
sunset law
用法筆記
Used only before a noun (sunset clause, sunset provision, sunset law); never after 'be'. Common in legal and political writing.
常見錯誤
2. describing the exact final date on which a programme, agency, or law must legall
describing the exact final date on which a programme, agency, or law must legally close down.
The cancer research grant came with a sunset date of December 2030 for all spending.
'sunset date' = the legal end date of a programme
Parliament set a sunset deadline forcing the housing agency to close by next March.
Every pilot project at the science museum has a sunset date in its contract.
Mayor Tunde warned that the sunset date for the city housing fund was approaching fast.
- final
emphasises that no extension will follow
文法句型
sunset date
sunset deadline
用法筆記
Attaches to time nouns such as 'date' or 'deadline'. Distinguish from sense 1, which describes the rule itself rather than the single ending date.
sunsets — verb
- sunsetspresent simple I / you / we / they
- sunsetses3rd person singular
- sunsetsing-ing form
- sunsetsedpast simple
1. to bring a law, programme, or agreement to a planned end, or to reach such an en
to bring a law, programme, or agreement to a planned end, or to reach such an end automatically on a set date.
Congress voted to sunset the old phone-tracking law by the end of 2027.
transitive: sunset + [law/programme] = end it on schedule
The school lunch programme sunsets next June unless the town council renews it in time.
intransitive: the programme sunsets = it ends by itself
Oslo's city leaders agreed to sunset the free parking plan after three years.
Many of the government's emergency powers will sunset once the health crisis ends.
The board decided to sunset its paper newsletter and move everything online.
文法句型
sunset a law/programme
the programme sunsets
用法筆記
Works both transitively (sunset a programme) and intransitively (the programme sunsets). Frequent in policy and business writing.