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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.

noun

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RELATED WORDS

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

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

Examples from the Web for wane

Contemporary Examples of wane

Historical Examples of wane

  • Thirdly, we were to emphasise to the men that Turkish morale was on the wane.

  • 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.