wizened 1 of 2

adjective

as in gaunt
dry and wrinkled usually because of old age the old man's wizened face

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

wizened

2 of 2

verb

past tense of wizen
as in shriveled

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wizened
Adjective
His wizened next-door neighbors (Mary Woodvine and Adrian Rawlins) are younger, mistaking him for their son Luke, a former crew member of the Rose of Nevada who died by suicide. — Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026 Nobody has ever wanted to watch the singer from Foreigner play baseball against Wally Joyner and a wizened Bobby Brady, and yet MTV leaned on the less-than-spectacular spectacle throughout the ‘90s. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 12 June 2026 While the beautiful people always display youth (even if it’s paid for), the always original Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio was unrecognizable, doubling his actual age of 32 with wizened grey hair, beard and bushy eyebrows, prosthetic wrinkles and a cane. — Merle Ginsberg, HollywoodReporter, 5 May 2026 Yoda Don’t underestimate the wizened little green guy putzing around with a laser sword. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 3 May 2026 Expect big feelings and a playful, wizened heart. — ABC News, 1 May 2026 In front of the butcher’s near where the painter lives, a vendor, wizened and bent, sets up shop. — Amir Ahmadi Arian, The Dial, 15 Jan. 2026 But more alarming than the ways in which this physical space could turn against us was the simple metaphor of a wizened little man pulling a boat down a river in the dark. — Ann Patchett, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025 Arsenal also agreed a deal for another teenager, the 16-year-old Shamrock Rovers midfielder Victor Ozhianvuna, a wizened old veteran by comparison. — Nick Miller, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wizened
  1. gaunt
  2. shriveled
  3. skeletal
  4. withered
  5. haggard
  6. dried
Adjective
  • The church’s punishment, however, delivered in front of the congregants, is an eerie ritual performed by a gaunt, severe visitor (Nicholas Hope).
    — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
  • Brig is in the Upper Valais, a gaunt and conservative place where the inhabitants speak Walliser German, an Alpine dialect that many Swiss people find unintelligible.
    — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Definition of gaunt
Verb
  • For decades, so much water has been taken that the river seldom meets the sea in Mexico, and its delta, once filled with lush wetlands and forests, has shriveled to stretches of dry riverbed.
    — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026
  • Remove sprouts and avoid potatoes that are soft, shriveled, green, or have long sprouts to stay safe.
    — Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Martha Stewart, 19 July 2026
Definition of shriveled
Adjective
  • Falling scaffolding at 14th and Peachtree A skeletal, half-finished building in Midtown that has sat neglected for five years has gotten so bad, City Council members approved a measure to impose a blight tax on it earlier this year.
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 15 July 2026
  • Since 2004, when exhumation and analysis of skeletal remains began for 49 Medici family tombs as part of the Medici Project, various studies have confirmed malaria as the cause of Francesco’s demise.
    — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 15 July 2026
Definition of skeletal
Verb
  • The lyrics address a love that has withered away and the subsequent process of emotional maturation.
    — Colin Millar, New York Times, 19 July 2026
  • Research showed that without fans, home-field advantage withered.
    — Patrik Jonsson, Christian Science Monitor, 18 July 2026
Definition of withered
Adjective
  • Rocking back and forth nervously during a television appearance, a haggard-looking Diaz-Canel acknowledged the same talks, which his government had denied were taking place just days before.
    — Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 22 Mar. 2026
  • Wrexham, meanwhile, was near the bottom, struggling in England’s lowest division under a haggard fan-ownership group keeping it on life support.
    — Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Definition of haggard
Verb
  • After the concrete basin was emptied, cleaned and dried, the Reflecting Pool was painted in sections.
    — Maura Judkis, Washington Post, 16 July 2026
  • The fragrant leaves are dried and used as culinary bay leaves.
    — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 July 2026
Definition of dried

Browse Nearby Words

wizen
wizened
wizening
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wizened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wizened. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on wizened

Nglish: Translation of wizened for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of itinerant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All