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wane

[weyn]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wane ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), waned, wan·ing.

to decrease in strength, intensity, etc.: Daylight waned, and night came on. Her enthusiasm for the cause is waning.

to decline in power, importance, prosperity, etc.: Colonialism began to wane after World War II.

to draw to a close; approach an end: Summer is waning.

(of the moon) to decrease periodically in the extent of its illuminated portion after the full moon.Compare wax²(def 2).

noun

a gradual decrease or decline in strength, intensity, power, etc.

the drawing to a close of life, an era, a period, etc.

the waning of the moon.

a period of waning.

a defect in a plank or board characterized by bark or insufficient wood at a corner or along an edge, due to the curvature of the log.

Idioms

on the wane, decreasing; diminishing: The popularity of that song is on the wane.

Origin of wane

before 900; Middle English wanen (v.), Old English wanian to lessen; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle High German wanen, Old Norse vana to cause to wane, destroy

Related formsun·waned, adjectiveun·wan·ing, adjective

Can be confusedwane wax

Synonyms for wane

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wane ON THESAURUS.COM

1, 2. diminish, fail, sink. 5. diminution; failure, decay.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for wane

dim, abate, ebb, dwindle, subside, atrophy, wither, decrease, fade, slacken, shrink, weaken, decline, drop, relent, sink, fall, fail, moderate

Examples from the Web for wane

Contemporary Examples of wane

Today, liberal Protestantism is on the wane, and optimistic postmillennialism along with it.
The Evangelical Apocalypse Is All Your Fault
Jay Michaelson
January 4, 2015
On defense, Republican small government orthodoxy tends to wane.
Republicans Don’t Really Care About Reducing America’s Debt
Peter Beinart
October 21, 2013
There is also statistical evidence to suggest that FGM may be on the wane.
Egypt’s Terrible FGM Death
Alastair Beach
June 13, 2013
Until last night, the conventional wisdom in Washington was that the Tea Party was on the wane.
Anger Over Fiscal-Cliff Deal Fires Up Tea Party
David Freedlander
January 3, 2013
The South can block some things, but eventually even that power will wane.
The House Vote and the Battle Cry of Freedom
Michael Tomasky
January 2, 2013

Historical Examples of wane

Thirdly, we were to emphasise to the men that Turkish morale was on the wane.
With Manchesters in the East
Gerald B. Hurst
Religion, true spiritual religion was on the wane in England.
Kent Knowles: Quahaug
Joseph C. Lincoln
It had made him apprehensive, and he wondered if his influence over her was on the wane.
The Woman-Haters
Joseph C. Lincoln
Perhaps not, said the voice, but if her love should wane how would you rekindle it?
The Fifth String
John Philip Sousa
And that both commercial nuns and Gorgeous Girls must be on the wane.
The Gorgeous Girl
Nalbro Bartley

British Dictionary definitions for wane

wane

verb (intr)

(of the moon) to show a gradually decreasing portion of illuminated surface, between full moon and new moonCompare wax 2 (def. 2)

to decrease gradually in size, strength, power, etc

to draw to a close

noun

a decrease, as in size, strength, power, etc

the period during which the moon wanes

the act or an instance of drawing to a close

a rounded surface or defective edge of a plank, where the bark was

on the wane in a state of decline

Derived Formswaney or wany, adjective

Word Origin for wane

Old English wanian (vb); related to wan-, prefix indicating privation, wana defect, Old Norse vana

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for wane

v.

Old English wanian "make or become smaller gradually," from Proto-Germanic *wanojanan (cf. Old Saxon wanon, Old Norse vana, Old Frisian wania, Middle Dutch waenen, Old High German wanon "to wane, to grow less"), from *wano- "lacking," from PIE *we-no-, from root *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out" (see vain). Related: Waned; waning; wanes.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with wane

wane

see wax and wane.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.