Meaning & use

diurnal

adjective·Advanced

Active during the day and resting at night, or relating to daytime rather than night.

See it in a sentence

Most diurnal animals, like squirrels, are active from sunrise to sunset.

The plant's diurnal rhythm causes its flowers to open only in daylight.

A note on using this word

Diurnal contrasts directly with nocturnal and is common in biology when describing an animal's activity pattern.

Words with a similar meaning

daytime

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Words with an opposite meaning

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