wean
to accustom (a child or young animal) to food other than mother's milk; cause to lose the need to suckle or turn to the mother for food.
to withdraw (a person, the affections, one's dependency, etc.) from some object, habit, form of enjoyment, or the like: The need to reduce had weaned us from rich desserts.
wean on, to accustom to; to familiarize with from, or as if from, childhood: a brilliant student weaned on the classics;suburban kids weaned on rock music.
Origin of wean
1Other words from wean
- wean·ed·ness [wee-nid-nis, weend-], /ˈwi nɪd nɪs, ˈwind-/, noun
- post·wean·ing, adjective
- pre·wean·ing, adjective
- un·weaned, adjective
Words that may be confused with wean
- wean , ween
Words Nearby wean
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use wean in a sentence
Some reports even tie psychosis to the withdrawal episodes experienced while weaning off of phenibut.
In the meantime, San Diego is spending billions to diversify its local water supply in an effort to wean itself off the Colorado River.
Morning Report: Who Owns the Tijuana River Water? | Voice of San Diego | January 11, 2021 | Voice of San DiegoIt’s good that oil demand is waning as the world should be in a rush to wean itself off of fossil fuels.
There’s growing consensus that oil demand won’t make a comeback | eamonbarrett | September 17, 2020 | FortuneA government push in 1970 to wean India off costly imports and manufacture cheaper medicines for its own citizens led to legal reforms that kickstarted growth of India’s generics industry.
More than manufacturing: India’s homegrown COVID vaccines could transform its pharma industry | Naomi Xu Elegant | September 6, 2020 | FortuneHyena moms nurse their cubs for around 14 months and help them get enough food even after they’re weaned.
“Since MGP whiskey is [more than] 80 percent of my revenues, it might be silly to wean myself off of that,” Perkins says.
Your ‘Craft’ Rye Whiskey Is Probably From a Factory Distillery in Indiana | Eric Felten | July 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe court postponed execution of the sentence, to give her time to recover from childbirth and to wean the new baby.
In Sudan a Pregnant Woman May Be Hanged for Marrying a Christian | Nina Shea | May 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTDirect payments came into being in 1996, originally as an effort to wean farmers off of direct government subsides altogether.
But it was Carter who first crusaded for the U.S. to wean itself off of its dependence on oil.
Carter in Oscarland: The Rehabilitation of the 39th President | Douglas Brinkley | February 24, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST“I was trying to wean him off,” Murray said to the detectives.
He would not, however, wean the calf till the winter time, when she was shut up in the yard and fed on hay.
The Children of the New Forest | Captain MarryatWe were always the best of friends, and I even ventured gradually to wean them from cannibalism.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont | Louis de Rougemont"Madame de la Fayette and I are using every effort to wean him from so dangerous an attachment," she writes to her daughter.
Queens of the French Stage | H. Noel WilliamsThen you must put your hand to the plough with a will; and the first thing to do is to wean him away from Saul Harrington.
The Mynns' Mystery | George Manville FennSuffering is not always punitive; it is sometimes disciplinary, designed to wean the good man from his sin.
British Dictionary definitions for wean (1 of 2)
/ (wiːn) /
to cause (a child or young mammal) to replace mother's milk by other nourishment
(usually foll by from) to cause to desert former habits, pursuits, etc
Origin of wean
1Derived forms of wean
- weaning, noun
British Dictionary definitions for wean (2 of 2)
/ (weɪn, wiːn) /
Scot and Northern English dialect a child; infant
Origin of wean
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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