wan

¹

[ won ]

adjective

, wan·ner, wan·nest.

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.

verb (used with or without object)

, wanned, wan·ning.

1. to become or make wan.

wan

²

[ wahn ]

verb

, Obsolete.

1. a simple past tense of win ¹.

WAN

³

[ wan ]

noun

1. wide-area network.

wan

¹

/ 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

verb

1. to make or become wan

WAN

²

abbreviation for

1. wide area network
2. Nigeria (international car registration)

WAN

/ 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.

Derived Forms

• ˈwanness, noun
• ˈwanly, adverb

Other Words From

• wanly adverb
• wanness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wan¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of wan¹

Old English wann dark; related to wanian to wane

Origin of wan²

From W(est) A(frica) N(igeria)

Synonym Study

See pale ¹.

Example Sentences

The terrific Beecham is saddled with a dismal hairdo and an even more dismal role, her character simply an object of wan yearning for the drowsy John.

From Los Angeles Times

I chanced a wan peek out of the flounce.

From Literature

If you were not eating meat in the 1990s and early 2000s, you might harbor painful memories of the wan, wet vegan dogs of yesteryear.

From Salon

When we drove by the family home, I tasted her cabbage omelet and the gong wan that she made from scratch.

From Los Angeles Times

But this show is too slight, too wan, to bear the weight of analytical dissection.

From New York Times