wane

[weyn]

verb (used without object)

waned, waning 

1. to decrease in strength, intensity, etc..

   Daylight waned, and night came on.

   Her enthusiasm for the cause is waning.

   Synonyms: sink, fail, diminish

2. to decline in power, importance, prosperity, etc..

   Colonialism began to wane after World War II.

   Synonyms: sink, fail, diminish

3. to draw to a close; approach an end.

   Summer is waning.

4. (of the moon) to decrease periodically in the extent of its illuminated portion after the full moon.

noun

1. a gradual decrease or decline in strength, intensity, power, etc.

   Synonyms: decay, failure, diminution

2. the drawing to a close of life, an era, a period, etc.

3. the waning of the moon.

4. a period of waning.

5. 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.

wane

/ weɪn /

verb

1. (of the moon) to show a gradually decreasing portion of illuminated surface, between full moon and new moon Compare wax 2

2. to decrease gradually in size, strength, power, etc

3. to draw to a close

noun

1. a decrease, as in size, strength, power, etc

2. the period during which the moon wanes

3. the act or an instance of drawing to a close

4. a rounded surface or defective edge of a plank, where the bark was

5. in a state of decline

Other Word Forms

• waney adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wane¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English verb wanen, Old English wanian “to lessen”; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle High German wanen, Old Norse vana “to cause to wane, destroy”

Word History and Origins

Origin of wane¹

Old English wanian (vb); related to wan-, prefix indicating privation, wana defect, Old Norse vana

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on the wane, decreasing; diminishing.

   The popularity of that song is on the wane.

see wax and wane.

Example Sentences

Fans wiped away tears as they watched Ripken circle the field, and the thunderous applause never waned throughout the delay.

From Los Angeles Times

If so, the party's popularity would seem likely to wane should the country's prospects look brighter in four years.

From BBC

In the waning days of January, Jackie laid a rare third egg in her snow-covered nest.

From Los Angeles Times

He reclines into his couch, one arm flung lazily behind his head, while the greens of his English garden sway in the waning summer light.

From Los Angeles Times

But now an extremist group, the Alternative for Germany or AfD, may become that nation’s biggest political party, just as the Nazis did in the waning days of Weimar.

From Salon

Related Words

• abate 
• atrophy 
• decrease 
• die down 
• die out 
• dim 
• dwindle 
• ebb 
• fade 
• peter out 
• shrink 
• slacken 
• subside 
• weaken 
• wither