wane

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | 572 words | Copyright

wane¹ / wān/ • v. [intr.] (of the moon) have a progressively smaller part of its visible surface illuminated, so that it appears to decrease in size. ∎ (esp. of a condition or feeling) decrease in vigor, power, or extent; become weaker: confidence in the dollar waned. PHRASES: on the wane becoming weaker, less vigorous, or less extensive: the epidemic was on the wane. wane² • n. the amount by which a plank or log is beveled or falls short of a squared shape. DERIVATIVES: wane·y adj.

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