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wane
[ weyn ]
verb (used without object)
- to decrease in strength, intensity, etc.:
Daylight waned, and night came on.
Her enthusiasm for the cause is waning.
- to decline in power, importance, prosperity, etc.:
Colonialism began to wane after World War II.
- to draw to a close; approach an end:
Summer is waning.
- (of the moon) to decrease periodically in the extent of its illuminated portion after the full moon. Compare wax 2( def 2 ).
noun
- a gradual decrease or decline in strength, intensity, power, etc.
Synonyms: decay, failure, diminution
- the drawing to a close of life, an era, a period, etc.
- the waning of the moon.
- a period of waning.
- 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
- (of the moon) to show a gradually decreasing portion of illuminated surface, between full moon and new moon Compare wax 2
- to decrease gradually in size, strength, power, etc
- to draw to a close
noun
- a decrease, as in size, strength, power, etc
- the period during which the moon wanes
- the act or an instance of drawing to a close
- a rounded surface or defective edge of a plank, where the bark was
- on the wanein a state of decline
Derived Forms
- ˈwaney, adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of wane1
Word History and Origins
Origin of wane1
Idioms and Phrases
- on the wane, decreasing; diminishing:
The popularity of that song is on the wane.
More idioms and phrases containing wane
see wax and wane .Example Sentences
Today, liberal Protestantism is on the wane, and optimistic postmillennialism along with it.
On defense, Republican small government orthodoxy tends to wane.
There is also statistical evidence to suggest that FGM may be on the wane.
Until last night, the conventional wisdom in Washington was that the Tea Party was on the wane.
The South can block some things, but eventually even that power will wane.
Primo de Rivera, who believed the rebellion to be fast on the wane, shipped back to Spain 7,000 troops.
But Mrs. Charmington was already on the wane, and as he had no wish to be her hero now he rather fought shy of her.
The moon was rising, its reddish disk somewhat diminished from being on the wane.
The one is religious, the other a civil power; the one may wane, the other rise.
The exchange of places was made, but after Fred had rowed for an hour or more his confidence also began to wane.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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