wizened

[ wiz-uhnd; wee-zuhnd ]

adjective

1. withered; shriveled:

   a wizened old man; wizened features.

wizened

/ ˈwɪzənd /

adjective

1. shrivelled, wrinkled, or dried up, esp with age

Word History and Origins

Origin of wizened¹

First recorded in 1505–15; wizen + -ed ²

Example Sentences

I observed women twice my age — at the front of my classrooms or dining in my favorite vegan restaurant — in their flowing garments and artistic jewelry and feared that someday, when I was old and wizened like them, a mysterious authority would swoop in to confiscate my miniskirts and stilettos and torn-up sweaters and issue me a new wardrobe of linen pants and drapey cardigans and flat shoes from Clarks.

From Los Angeles Times

Etched with charcoal or black chalk on plaster and measuring about 40 by 50 inches, art historians have identified the figure — who is well built, but a little wizened — as a “triton,” a god of the sea, or a “satyr,” part man part beast.

From New York Times

Cecilia also encounters a wizened nun with large cross-shaped scars on the soles of her feet.

From New York Times

The plant had once been glorious but was abandoned in critical condition, with sap-oozing wounds and wizened limbs.

From New York Times

Jeremy Egner of The New York Times wrote that “Stewart’s first night found him grayer — at one point he used his own wizened face as a prop in a joke about the presidential candidates’ ages.

From Seattle Times