Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

ween

American  
[ween] / win /

verb (used with or without object)

Archaic.
  1. to think; suppose.

  2. to expect, hope, or intend.


ween British  
/ wiːn /

verb

  1. archaic to think or imagine (something)

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of ween

before 900; Middle English wenen, Old English wēnan to expect; cognate with German wähnen to imagine, Old Norse væna, Gothic wēnjan to hope, expect

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The idea to fuse improv with puppeteering originated from a training exercise meant to ween puppeteers from their dependence on scripts.

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2023

The EU sought for decades to ween aging industries from state aid that kept noncompetitive sectors alive beyond their sell-by date.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 15, 2022

I’d begin by trying to ween her into other genres.

From Slate • May 20, 2021

They argue that the state needs to ween itself from fossil fuels and that customers will see more benefits as costs continue coming down.

From Washington Times • Jan. 7, 2021

His heart, I ween, foreboded the deed that had been done, And that the childless father no more should see his son.

From The Nibelungenlied Revised Edition by Unknown

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "ween" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com