Definition

1. Noun:

   • High honor, praise, or distinction: Great admiration, honor, and praise received for notable achievements.
   • Magnificence or great beauty: Something that is strikingly impressive or beautiful.
   • A state of great splendor, prosperity, or achievement: A period of high success or renown.
   • A ring or circle of light depicted around the head of a sacred figure: A halo or nimbus, representing holiness.

2. Verb:

   • To rejoice proudly; to exult: To take great pride or pleasure in something.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • The soldiers fought for the glory of their nation. (They fought to achieve honor for their country.)
  • We stood in awe of the glory of the sunset over the mountains. (We admired the magnificent beauty.)
  • The artist was at the height of her glory in the 1990s. (She was in her most successful period.)
  • In the painting, a golden glory surrounds the saint's head. (A halo of light is shown.)

• Verb:

  • She gloried in her team's unexpected victory. (She took great pride and joy in the win.)

Advanced Usage

• "To go to glory": (Humorous) To die.
  • The old car finally went to glory after 300,000 miles. (The car finally stopped working completely.)
• "To be in one's glory": To be in a situation where one is extremely happy and successful.
  • Surrounded by books in the library, the scholar was in his glory. (He was perfectly happy and in his element.)
• "Glory be!": (Exclamation, somewhat old-fashioned) An expression of praise, joy, or surprise.
  • Glory be! I haven't seen you in twenty years!

Variants and Related Words

• Glorious (adj.): Deserving or bringing great praise and honor; having great beauty or splendor.
  • It was a glorious autumn day.
• Glorify (v.): To praise and honor; to make something seem more splendid or excellent than it is.
  • The song glorifies the life of a hero.
• Glorification (n.): The action of describing or representing something as admirable, especially unjustifiably.

Synonyms

• Noun: Honor, fame, renown, prestige, magnificence, splendor, beauty.
• Verb: Exult, revel, delight, bask.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Glory in: To take great pride or pleasure in something. (This is the primary phrasal use of the verb).
  • He glories in his reputation as a tough negotiator.

Related Idioms

• Reflected glory: Praise or honor that comes to you because of your association with someone else who is successful.
  • As the manager of the winning team, he enjoyed some reflected glory.
• A glory hole: (Informal) A small, untidy room or storage space filled with miscellaneous items.
  • We found the old photo albums in the glory hole under the stairs.

Noun

1. an indication of radiant light drawn around the head of a saint
2. brilliant radiant beauty
   • the glory of the sunrise
3. a state of high honor
   • he valued glory above life itself

Verb

1. rejoice proudly