wane
[weyn]
- 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).
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- 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.
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- 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
Synonyms
See more synonyms for wane on Thesaurus.com1, 2. diminish, fail, sink. 5. diminution; failure, decay.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for waned
Contemporary Examples
The German infatuation with Atatürk and Turkey waned after the Beerhall Putsch.
Trust in European institutions has waned across the continent.
On the other side, there are scores of Republicans whose boundless enthusiasm for war has waned considerably.
Its prestige (if not its income) waxed and waned as Thatcherism died and the Blair era arrived.
Jess: I wonder how much of this has to do with the fact that feminism as a "movement" has waned.
‘The Feminine Mystique’ at 50, Part 2: Three Feminists on What It Means TodayJessica Bennett, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Alisa Solomon
February 12, 2013
Historical Examples
She waned before the eyes of the king, like daylight that must be gone.
Old Greek Folk Stories Told AnewJosephine Preston Peabody
"Now we ought to see the burgomaster," said Rob, as the afternoon waned.
The Boy Scouts on Belgian BattlefieldsLieut. Howard Payson
Between these two it would seem as the humour of the one waned, that of the other waxed.
The Trampling of the LiliesRafael Sabatini
It was on his last day, when hope had waned, that he found what he hoped was a clue.
Mixed FacesRoy Norton
It had ebbed from him with his blood, or waned with his fever.
The Wild GeeseStanley John Weyman
wane
- (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
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- 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
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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
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Word Origin and History for waned
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 waned
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.