wean

American  

[ween] / win /

verb (used with object)

1. to accustom (a child or young animal) to food other than mother's milk; cause to lose the need to suckle or turn to the mother for food.

2. to withdraw (a person, the affections, one's dependency, etc.) from some object, habit, form of enjoyment, or the like.

   The need to reduce had weaned us from rich desserts.

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verb phrase

1. wean on to accustom to; to familiarize with from, or as if from, childhood.

   a brilliant student weaned on the classics;

   suburban kids weaned on rock music.

wean ¹ British  

/ wiːn /

verb

1. to cause (a child or young mammal) to replace mother's milk by other nourishment

2. (usually foll by from) to cause to desert former habits, pursuits, etc

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wean ² British  

/ weɪn, wiːn /

noun

1. dialect a child; infant

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Other Word Forms

• postweaning adjective
• preweaning adjective
• unweaned adjective
• weanedness noun
• weaning noun

Etymology

Origin of wean

First recorded before 1000; Middle English wenen, Old English wenian; cognate with Dutch wennen, German gewöhnen, Old Norse venja “to accustom”

Example Sentences

Her goal is to wean herself off her mom’s help eventually, but for now, she doesn’t feel guilty for accepting some assistance.

From MarketWatch

The European Union has been scrambling to wean itself off Russian energy imports since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

From Barron's

The latest spat, however, could accelerate Europe’s efforts to wean itself off of natural gas, in favor of cleaner alternatives, including renewables or nuclear power.

From Barron's

In two-week-old mice, before weaning, dendritic spines were spread relatively evenly across the neuron.

From Science Daily

They are also concerned about disruptions to their ambitious economic and social development plan, called Vision 2030, which aims to boost tourism and wean the kingdom off its reliance on petrodollars.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• discourage