wan

1 of 3

adjective

wanner; wannest
1
a
: suggestive of poor health : sickly, pallid
b
: lacking vitality : feeble
2
: dim, faint
3
: languid
a wan smile
wanly adverb
wanness noun

wan

2 of 3

verb

wanned; wanning

intransitive verb

: to grow or become pale or sickly

WAN

3 of 3

noun

Examples of wan in a Sentence

Adjective She gave a wan laugh. she looks a little wan after all that tiring work
Recent Examples on the Web
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Adjective
If the land in question has been converted from agricultural fields to golf-course acreage, the net impact of those other factors might actually be lessened, but that’s a wan exculpation. David Quammen, Outside Online, 2 Mar. 2020 The industrial lagers were flavorless, wan and dilute; craft beer, by contrast, would be rich, complex and delicious. Esther Mobley, SFChronicle.com, 31 Jan. 2020 That was the epoch of Tide football spearheaded by the Mikes — DuBose, Price and Shula with a dash of Dennis Franchione added into a wan mix of uninspired, sometimes scandalous leadership at the dawn of this century. Rainer Sabin, Detroit Free Press, 30 Dec. 2019 Evans managed both to placate the money men at Gulf & Western, who wanted to sell Paramount because of its wan revenue, and become a peer of Hollywood's rambunctious talent. cleveland, 28 Oct. 2019 See All Example Sentences for wan

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Old English wann dark, livid

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1578, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1983, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wan was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wan. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

wan

adjective
ˈwän
wanner; wannest
1
a
: pale entry 1 sense 1b, sickly
a wan complexion
b
: lacking vitality : feeble
2
: dim entry 1 sense 1, faint
a wan light
3
: showing little effort : languid
a wan smile
wanly adverb
wanness
ˈwän-nəs
noun

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