English Dictionary

Definition of “wan

wan (wɒnPronunciation for wan

Definitions

adjective

Word forms: wanner, wannest
  1. unnaturally pale esp from sickness, grief, etc
  2. characteristic or suggestive of ill health, unhappiness, etc
  3. (of light, stars, etc) faint or dim

verb

Word forms: wans, wanning, wanned
  1. to make or become wan

Alternative Forms

ˈwanly adverb ˈwanness noun

Word Origin

Old English wann  dark; related to wanian to wane

WAN

Definitions

abbreviation for

  1. wide area network
  2. Nigeria (international car registration)

Word Origin

From W(est) A(frica) N(igeria)

Usage examples

  • Presently they began to burn with a bluish flame which looked wan in the veiled daylight.
    Amanda Hemingway, THE GREENSTONE GRAIL: The Sangreal Trilogy One (2004)
  • You know the fella, his iconic image appears on wan , arty-types ' t-shirts and student walls.
    Megastar (2004)
  • I break into a wan smile every time I think of his visits when he would take my brothers and I to the CNE.
    Toronto Sun (2003)
  • Kennedy greets us in the waiting room of her practice at No 10, looking rather wan.
    Glasgow Herald (2001)
  • She was holding a wan perennial she had liberated from a supermarket.
    MacLehose, Christopher (ed.), Turning the Page: Essays, Memoirs, Fiction, Poetry and One Sermon (1993)

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