wan

¹ American  

[won] / wɒn /

adjective

wanner, wannest

1. of an unnatural or sickly pallor; pallid; lacking color.

   His wan face suddenly flushed.

   Synonyms:

   ashen

   Antonyms:

   ruddy

2. showing or suggesting ill health, fatigue, unhappiness, etc..

   a wan look; a wan smile.

3. lacking in forcefulness, competence, or effectiveness.

   their wan attempts to organize the alumni.

   Synonyms:

   limp, ineffectual, halfhearted, weak, feeble

4. Archaic.

   1. dark or gloomy.

   2. pale in color or hue.

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verb (used with or without object)

wanned, wanning

1. to become or make wan.

wan ² American  

[wahn] / wɑn /

verb

Obsolete.

1. a simple past tense of win.

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WAN ³ American  

[wan] / wæn /

noun

1. wide-area network.

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wan ¹ British  

/ wɒn /

adjective

1. unnaturally pale esp from sickness, grief, etc

2. characteristic or suggestive of ill health, unhappiness, etc

3. (of light, stars, etc) faint or dim

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verb

1. to make or become wan

WAN ² British  

abbreviation

1. wide area network

2. Nigeria (international car registration)

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WAN Scientific  

/ wăn /

1. Short for wide area network. A communications network that uses such devices as telephone lines, satellite dishes, or radio waves to span a larger geographic area than can be covered by a LAN. The Internet is a WAN.

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Related Words

See pale ¹.

Other Word Forms

• wanly adverb
• wanness noun

Etymology

Origin of wan

before 900; Middle English; Old English wann dark, gloomy

Explanation

Someone who is wan is visibly unwell and lacking in energy. If you’ve had the flu for over a week, and you finally get out of bed looking pale and tired, your mother might say that you look wan. When your aunt comes to dinner and eats three helpings of dessert, she might seem a little wan as she drinks her tea, meaning she looks sickly and weak — and no wonder, after so many slices of pie! Wan can also describe a fading light — one that is sickly and weak, just like your aunt. When the light bulb in the living room burns out and leaves only wan twilight filtering in, you’ll find it impossible to read.

Example Sentences

For each of those successes, there are several messy misfires: The wan camp of “The Politician.”

From Salon • Feb. 12, 2026

Our mother did reappear, looking wan and smiling bravely, and we had to pretend that she was fine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025

The sloth’s nubbly nylon “fur” does the scrubbing, its front paws grasp a handy hanging cord and a wan, stitched-in half smile serves as a reminder that the scullery duty is only temporary.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 1, 2023

Is it that the many bad versions out there — soggy noodles swathed in bottled dressing and tossed with wan vegetables — make good ones hard to imagine?

From Seattle Times • Sep. 25, 2023

Jake grins, but it’s a wan smile; there’s no heart behind it.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed