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In her book Braiding Sweetgrass, scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer, an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, recounts some of the stories of her people surrounding Windigos, fearsome, shrieking monsters that prey on human flesh: “The Windigo is most powerful in the Hungry Times. With the warm breezes his power wanes.” Wane is a verb used when something—such as strength, power, or influence—decreases or diminishes, usually with the implication that the lessening is gradual, natural, or—as in the case of the Windigo—seasonal. Daylight wanes, as does summer. In a classroom, one’s attention may be said to wane if, minute by minute, one becomes more interested in watching birds through the window than following the points of the professor’s lecture. For centuries, wane has also been called upon to describe the seeming decrease in the size of the moon in the later phases of the lunar cycle. The traditional opposite of wane is wax, a once common but now rare synonym of grow. Wane and wax have been partnered in references to the moon since the Middle Ages.
Synonyms
Examples of wane in a Sentence
Peter D. Feaver, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2024
Poole and Curry swapped 3-pointers in the waning seconds of the first half, with Curry beating the buzzer to give Golden State a 54-45 advantage.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 4 Nov. 2024
Jamie Carter, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
The sun has an 11-year cycle during which its magnetic activity waxes and wanes.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Wane.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wane. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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wane
1 of 2 verbwane
2 of 2 noun
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