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wane

[weyn]
See more synonyms for wane on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object), waned, wan·ing.
  1. to decrease in strength, intensity, etc.: Daylight waned, and night came on. Her enthusiasm for the cause is waning.
  2. to decline in power, importance, prosperity, etc.: Colonialism began to wane after World War II.
  3. to draw to a close; approach an end: Summer is waning.
  4. (of the moon) to decrease periodically in the extent of its illuminated portion after the full moon.Compare wax2(def 2).
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noun
  1. a gradual decrease or decline in strength, intensity, power, etc.
  2. the drawing to a close of life, an era, a period, etc.
  3. the waning of the moon.
  4. a period of waning.
  5. 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.
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Idioms
  1. on the wane, decreasing; diminishing: The popularity of that song is on the wane.
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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

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1, 2. diminish, fail, sink. 5. diminution; failure, decay.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

dimabateebbdwindlesubsideatrophywitherdecreasefadeslackenshrinkweakendeclinedroprelentsinkfallfailmoderate

Examples from the Web for wane

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • 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)
  1. (of the moon) to show a gradually decreasing portion of illuminated surface, between full moon and new moonCompare wax 2 (def. 2)
  2. to decrease gradually in size, strength, power, etc
  3. to draw to a close
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noun
  1. a decrease, as in size, strength, power, etc
  2. the period during which the moon wanes
  3. the act or an instance of drawing to a close
  4. a rounded surface or defective edge of a plank, where the bark was
  5. on the wane in a state of decline
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Derived Formswaney or wany, adjective

Word Origin

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with wane

wane

see wax and wane.

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