glory

The word “glory” means great honour, fame, or admiration earned through achievement. In plain terms, great honour or splendid beauty, or the pride you take in an achievement.

“Glory” is pronounced GLAW-ree (/ˈɡloɹ.i/ in IPA).

Here is “glory” used in a sentence: “The soldiers returned home to glory and celebration.”

Words with a similar meaning to “glory” include praise, worship, fame, honor and honour.

Depending on how it is used, “glory” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “glory” comes from Latin. From Old French glorie, from Latin gloria, meaning fame, honour, or renown.

“Glory” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Glory” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: great honour, fame, or admiration earned through achievement.

Fame simply means being widely known, whether for good or bad reasons, while glory carries a stronger sense of honour and admiration earned through real achievement. A person can be famous without glory, but glory usually implies praise and distinction.

Use "glory" when you mean honour or renown won through accomplishment, and "splendour" when you mean magnificent beauty. Glory can cover both senses, but splendour focuses only on visual magnificence.

Common collocations include "in all its glory," "blaze of glory," "bask in the glory," and "glory days." These usually emphasise either a peak of achievement or striking magnificence.

"Glory" works in both registers but leans formal, literary, or religious, especially in phrases like "to God be the glory." In casual speech it appears mainly in set expressions such as "glory days."