as in pallid
lacking a healthy skin color
she looks a little wan after all that tiring work
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wan
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
What seemed inventive and clever in the confines of a small off-Broadway theater feels utterly wan in its current incarnation.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Oct. 2019
Our family just discovered Gobi Manchurian, and for anyone who considers cauliflower a wan version of broccoli, try this and banish thoughts of soggy vegetables from your mind.
—BostonGlobe.com, 30 Mar. 2018
In spite of the lovingly detailed suburban ambience, interiors, gardens and clothes, the atmosphere feels torqued beyond time and history into a fairy tale theater of desire and wan hope.
—Marina Warner, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2018
See All Example Sentences for wan
cleveland, 28 Oct. 2019
What seemed inventive and clever in the confines of a small off-Broadway theater feels utterly wan in its current incarnation.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Oct. 2019
Our family just discovered Gobi Manchurian, and for anyone who considers cauliflower a wan version of broccoli, try this and banish thoughts of soggy vegetables from your mind.
—BostonGlobe.com, 30 Mar. 2018
In spite of the lovingly detailed suburban ambience, interiors, gardens and clothes, the atmosphere feels torqued beyond time and history into a fairy tale theater of desire and wan hope.
—Marina Warner, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2018
See All Example Sentences for wan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wan
Adjective
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County plans acknowledged potential harm to pallid bats native to the area and called for installing bat boxes to offer them an alternative habitat.—
Hannah Elsmore,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 Nov. 2025
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Tallow or beef fat is usually pale, off-white, sometimes yellow: complexion was a key sign of chlorosis, which was named with a Greek word meaning pale, pallid, or yellow-green.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The heiress and entrepreneur has a princess moment in a romantic pale pink gown with floral appliqués and a matching cape.—
Brittany Talarico,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
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These figures, while shocking, unfortunately pale in comparison to those from the recent war, now widely recognized as a genocide.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wan. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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