wizen

American  

[wiz-uhn, wee-zuhn] / ˈwɪz ən, ˈwi zən /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to wither; shrivel; dry up.

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adjective

1. wizened.

wizen ¹ British  

/ ˈwɪzən /

verb

1. to make or become shrivelled

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adjective

1. a variant of wizened

wizen ² British  

/ ˈwiːzən /

noun

1. an archaic word for weasand

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Etymology

Origin of wizen

before 900; (v.) Middle English wisenen, Old English wisnian; cognate with Old Norse visna to wither; (adj.) shortened form of wizened

Example Sentences

It would wizen up, or grow ripe, or it might rot.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

The little creature hid her wizen face in her withered little hands and sobbed.

From Edward Barnett; a Neglected Child of South Carolina, Who Rose to Be a Peer of Great Britain,—and the Stormy Life of His Grandfather, Captain Williams or, The Earle's Victims: with an Account of the Terrible End of the Proud Earl De Montford, the Lamentable Fate of the Victim of His Passion, and the Shadow's Punishment by Aconite, Tobias

Ay! your common everyday sort o' breein' darena' show their bits o' wizen cheeks by daylight; but there be some 'at will abroad at all hours, without fear o' being laid by the parson.

From Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 2 by Roby, John

No highwayman ever more successfully clutched the wizen of his victim than did the Street with its supple fingers around the white larynx of Columbia.

From The Arena Volume 18, No. 92, July, 1897 by Various

Old Jacques—a wizen little habitant—was distressed at the news, and ran off instantly to harness up his old mare, and sled.

From Kate Danton, or, Captain Danton's Daughters A Novel by Fleming, May Agnes

Related Words

• atrophy
• decay
• deflate
• deteriorate
• disintegrate
• dry
• fade
• languish
• perish
• shrink
• shrivel
• wane
• wilt