wan

¹ American  

[won] / wɒn /

adjective

wanner, wannest

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.

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verb (used with or without object)

wanned, wanning

1. to become or make wan.

wan ² American  

[wahn] / wɑn /

verb

Obsolete.

1. a simple past tense of win.

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WAN ³ American  

[wan] / wæn /

noun

1. wide-area network.

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wan ¹ British  

/ 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

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verb

1. to make or become wan

WAN ² British  

abbreviation

1. wide area network

2. Nigeria (international car registration)

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WAN Scientific  

/ 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.

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Related Words

See pale ¹.

Other Word Forms

• wanly adverb
• wanness noun

Etymology

Origin of wan

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

Example Sentences

For each of those successes, there are several messy misfires: The wan camp of “The Politician.”

From Salon • Feb. 12, 2026

Our mother did reappear, looking wan and smiling bravely, and we had to pretend that she was fine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025

“We watched them install it one night. It’s not like they talk to us or ask us for permission,” he said, a wan smile on his face.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 24, 2025

But this show is too slight, too wan, to bear the weight of analytical dissection.

From New York Times • Feb. 15, 2024

This will always be the color of Westchester for me, that wan gray, the kind of gray that speaks of an impenetrable wealth, never too fancy.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee