Adjacent Words

Wane definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

WANE, v.i.
1. To be diminished; to decrease; particularly applied to the illuminated part of the moon. WE say, the moon wanes, that is, the visible or illuminated part decreases.
Waning moons their settled periods keep.
2. To decline; to fail; to sink; as the waning age of life.
You saw but sorrow in its waning form.
Land and trade ever will wax and wane together.
WANE, v.t. To cause to decrease.
WANE, n.
1. Decrease of the illuminated part of the moon, to the eye of a spectator.
2. Decline; failure; diminution; decrease; declension.
You are cast upon an age in which the church is in its wane.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number) [syn: ebb, ebbing, wane] v
1: grow smaller; "Interest in the project waned" [syn: decline, go down, wane]
2: become smaller; "Interest in his novels waned" [ant: climb, mount, rise, wax]
3: decrease in phase; "the moon is waning" [ant: full, wax]

Merriam Webster's

I. intransitive verb (waned; waning) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wanian; akin to Old High German wan?n to wane, Old English wan wanting, deficient, Latin vanus empty, vain Date: before 12th century 1. to decrease in size, extent, or degree ; dwindle: as a. to diminish in phase or intensity — used chiefly of the moon, other satellites, and inferior planets b. to become less brilliant or powerful ; dim c. to flow out ; ebb 2. to fall gradually from power, prosperity, or influence Synonyms: see abate II. noun Date: 14th century 1. a. the act or process of waning <strength on the wane> b. a period or time of waning; specifically the period from the full moon to the new moon 2. [Middle English, defect, from Old English wana; akin to Old English wan deficient] a defect in lumber characterized by bark or a lack of wood at a corner or edge

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.intr. 1 (of the moon) decrease in apparent size after the full moon (cf. WAX(2)). 2 decrease in power, vigour, importance, brilliance, size, etc.; decline. --n. 1 the process of waning. 2 a defect of a plank etc. that lacks square corners. Phrases and idioms: on the wane waning; declining. Derivatives: waney adj. (in sense 2 of n.). Etymology: OE wanian lessen f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wane Wane, v. t. To cause to decrease. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wane Wane, n. 1. The decrease of the illuminated part of the moon to the eye of a spectator. 2. Decline; failure; diminution; decrease; declension. An age in which the church is in its wane. --South. Though the year be on the wane. --Keble. 3. An inequality in a board. [Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wane Wane, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waned; p. pr. & vb. n. Waning.] [OE. wanien, AS. wanian, wonian, from wan, won, deficient, wanting; akin to D. wan-, G. wahnsinn, insanity, OHG. wan, wana-, lacking, wan?n to lessen, Icel. vanr lacking, Goth. vans; cf. Gr. ? bereaved, Skr. ?na wanting, inferior. ????. Cf. Want lack, and Wanton.] 1. To be diminished; to decrease; -- contrasted with wax, and especially applied to the illuminated part of the moon. Like the moon, aye wax ye and wane. Waning moons their settled periods keep. --Addison. 2. To decline; to fail; to sink. You saw but sorrow in its waning form. --Dryden. Land and trade ever will wax and wane together. --Sir J. Child.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wane Wane, n. (Forestry) The natural curvature of a log or of the edge of a board sawed from a log.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(wanes, waning, waned) 1. If something wanes, it becomes gradually weaker or less, often so that it eventually disappears. While his interest in these sports began to wane, a passion for rugby developed. ...her mother's waning strength. = fade wax and wane: see wax VERB: V, V-ing 2. If something is on the wane, it is becoming weaker or less. In 1982, with his career prospects on the wane, he sold a script for £5,000. = diminishing PHRASE: v-link PHR 3. When the moon is waning, it is showing a smaller area of brightness each day as it changes from a full moon to a new moon. The moon was waning, and each day it rose later. VERB: usu cont, V

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. Decrease, diminish, grow less. 2. Decline, fail, sink. II. n. 1. Diminution, decrease, lessening. 2. Decline, declension, decay, failure, falling off, decrease.

Moby Thesaurus

abate, ablate, advance, age, ascend, back, back up, bate, be eaten away, beat, budge, calm, calm down, catabasis, cease, cessation, change, change place, cheat the undertaker, circle, climb, collapse, comedown, consume, consume away, corrode, crash, crumble, dead set, dead stand, dead stop, deadlock, debasement, decadence, decadency, deceleration, declension, declination, decline, decline and fall, decrease, decrescendo, deformation, degeneracy, degenerateness, degeneration, degradation, deliquesce, demotion, depravation, depravedness, depreciation, derogation, descend, descent, deterioration, devolution, die, die away, die down, diminish, diminuendo, dive, dodder, downtrend, downturn, downward mobility, downward trend, drift away, drop, drop off, dwindle, dwindling, dying, dying down, ease off, ebb, ebbing, effeteness, erode, fade, fade away, fading, fail, failing, failure, failure of nerve, fall, fall away, fall off, fall short, falling-off, flow, full stop, get along, get on, get over, go, go around, go away, go down, go downhill, go off, go round, go sideways, grow old, gyrate, halt, hit a slump, hit rock bottom, hit the skids, involution, languish, lapse, lash, lessen, let up, lock, loss of tone, lull, melt away, moderate, molder, mount, move, move away, move off, move over, pacify, plummet, plunge, progress, pull away, quiesce, quiet, quieten, reach the depths, recede, regress, regression, relent, remission, retire, retreat, retrocede, retrocession, retrogradation, retrogress, retrogression, rise, rotate, run, run down, run low, sag, shake, shift, shrink, shrivel, sink, slacken, slide, slip, slippage, slowdown, slump, soar, soothe, spin, stand, stand off, standstill, stillstand, stir, stop, stream, subside, subsidence, switch, tail off, totter, touch bottom, tranquilize, travel, turn gray, turn white, wag, waggle, waning, waste, waste away, weaken, wear, wear away, whirl, widen the distance, withdraw, wither, wizen, wrinkle