Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To decrease gradually in size, number, strength, or intensity.
- intransitive verb To show a progressively smaller illuminated area, as the moon does in passing from full to new.
- intransitive verb To approach an end.
- noun The act or process of gradually declining or diminishing.
- noun A time or phase of gradual decrease.
- noun The period of the decrease of the moon's illuminated visible surface.
- noun A defective edge of a board caused by remaining bark or a beveled end.
- idiom (on the wane) In a period of decline or decrease.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To decrease; be diminished: applied particularly to the periodical lessening of the illuminated part of the moon: opposed to wax.
- To decline; fail; sink; approach an end.
- To cause to decrease: lessen.
- Wanting; lack ing; deficient.
- noun Periodic decrease of the illuminated part of the moon; period of decreasing illumination.
- noun Decline; failure; declension.
- noun A beveled edge of a board or plank as sawn from an unsquared log, the bevel being caused by curvature of the log.
- noun Same as
wone .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To be diminished; to decrease; -- contrasted with
wax , and especially applied to the illuminated part of the moon. - intransitive verb To decline; to fail; to sink.
- transitive verb obsolete To cause to decrease.
- noun The decrease of the illuminated part of the moon to the eye of a spectator.
- noun Decline; failure; diminution; decrease; declension.
- noun Prov. Eng. An inequality in a board.
- noun (Forestry) The natural curvature of a log or of the edge of a board sawed from a log.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun obsolete A
house ordwelling . - noun Scotland, slang A
child . - noun A gradual diminution in power, value, intensity etc.
- noun The
lunar phase during which the sun seems to illuminate less of the moon as its sunlit area becomes less visible from Earth. - noun literary The
end of a period. - noun woodworking A rounded corner caused by lack of wood, often showing bark.
- verb intransitive To progressively
lose itssplendor ,value ,ardor ,power ,intensity etc.; todecline . - verb intransitive Said of
light thatdims or diminishes in strength. - verb intransitive, astronomy Said of the
Moon as its through thephases of its monthlycycle during which itsvisible surface is progressivelydecrease . - verb intransitive Said of a time
period thatcomes to an end . - verb intransitive, archaic To decrease physically in
size ,amount ,numbers orsurface . - verb transitive, obsolete To cause to decrease.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb become smaller
- verb grow smaller
- noun a gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number)
- verb decrease in phase
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Sweaty semi-naked yobs with southern cross tatts, flag capes and gang mentality: bigger prob, but hopefully on the wane from a couple of years ago.
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Almost as unsettling as Paul Kennedy's thesis that American power is on the wane is his failure to point out that the Keynesian spending policies and socialist priorities of the "rather wonderful, charismatic and highly intelligent" fellow who just became President will almost certainly hasten any decline.
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On the wane are the heavy borrowing and complex securities that financiers embraced in recent years.
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Shvat Affective Disorder is on the wane, which is good.
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And that the lobby can find a resurgence at a time when crime rates in the largest cities are spectacularly on the wane is another American paradox.
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The latest data to suggest the recession may be on the wane was the April payrolls report, which showed fewer jobs were lost last month than in March.
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Sad to kind of wane away as it did the last few years …
EXTRALIFE – By Scott Johnson - Diary #26: “You Never Know” 2007
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There is no evidence that E.D. Texas has, or ever will, "wane" without Congressional action.
Ex-PTO Commisioners Weigh in on Patent Reform Peter Zura 2008
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Now, we are expecting a few hours from now those winds to kind of wane off a little bit but we are expecting them to be picking back up for tomorrow.
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Even the Liberal Democrats, traditionally strong on the environment, have seen their lead on green issues "wane" at points during the year.
Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk 2008
racinghorror commented on the word wane
memory wanes with old age; in one word senelity.
August 2, 2009