wan

¹

[ won ]

adjective

, wan·ner, wan·nest.

1. of an unnatural or sickly pallor; pallid; lacking color:

   His wan face suddenly flushed.

   Synonyms: ashen

   Antonyms: ruddy

2. showing or suggesting ill health, fatigue, unhappiness, etc.:

   a wan look; a wan smile.

3. lacking in forcefulness, competence, or effectiveness:

   their wan attempts to organize the alumni.

   Synonyms: limp, ineffectual, halfhearted, weak, feeble

4. Archaic.
   1. dark or gloomy.
   2. pale in color or hue.

verb (used with or without object)

, wanned, wan·ning.

1. to become or make wan.

wan

²

[ wahn ]

verb

, Obsolete.

1. a simple past tense of win ¹.

WAN

³

[ wan ]

noun

1. wide-area network.

wan

¹

/ wɒn /

adjective

1. unnaturally pale esp from sickness, grief, etc
2. characteristic or suggestive of ill health, unhappiness, etc
3. (of light, stars, etc) faint or dim

verb

1. to make or become wan

WAN

²

abbreviation for

1. wide area network
2. Nigeria (international car registration)

WAN

/ wăn /

1. Short for wide area network. A communications network that uses such devices as telephone lines, satellite dishes, or radio waves to span a larger geographic area than can be covered by a LAN. The Internet is a WAN.

Derived Forms

• ˈwanness, noun
• ˈwanly, adverb

Other Words From

• wanly adverb
• wanness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wan¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English wann dark, gloomy

Word History and Origins

Origin of wan¹

Old English wann dark; related to wanian to wane

Origin of wan²

From W(est) A(frica) N(igeria)

Synonym Study

See pale ¹.

Example Sentences

“Expat bankers are definitely into the drugs/hooker scene, and Wan Chai is the very epicenter,” he told The Daily Beast.

From The Daily Beast

Laughing at one's own participants is a fine strategy for a show like "I Wanna Marry Harry."

From The Daily Beast

“I wanna go inside every corner / Girl, you really turn me on / I wanna go knock, knock our bodies to the beat”?

From The Daily Beast

What in the name of Obi-Wan would this mean for the series, including the Expanded Universe?

From The Daily Beast

If you wanna help, tell the CIA to stop trying to kill me.

From The Daily Beast

A vast assemblage of countless thousands of women, and boys, and wan and starving men, gathered in the streets of Paris.

From Project Gutenberg

Humanity shut its eyes in view of the hideous apparition of wan and haggard beggary and crime.

From Project Gutenberg

The colored woman came running, and with her Grace, who looked at the wan features of the soldier with piteous eyes.

From Project Gutenberg

Margaret lay, wan and exhausted, on the sofa—the doctor looked very melancholy and rather stern, and the others were silent.

From Project Gutenberg

Julie acknowledged this flattery by a wan little smile, and following Hester out of the 24 room, went in to see her father.

From Project Gutenberg