Meanings
waning1
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of wane
waning2
plural wanings
- The fact or act of becoming less or less intense or present; fading.
the waning of her energy
2 more examples
And boyhood is a summer sun Whose waning is the dreariest one — For all we live to know is known And all we seek to keep hath flown — […]
1829, Edgar Allan Poe, “Tamerlane”, in Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor PoemsSoothed again, but only soothed to deeper gloom, Ahab, who had sterned off from the whale, sat intently watching his final wanings from the now tranquil boat.
1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick - The fact or act of becoming smaller.
17th century, Joseph Hall, Epistle to Mr. R. B. This earthly moon, the Church, hath her fulls and wanings, and sometimes her eclipses.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjective(of the Moon) pertaining to the period during which the visible surface of the moon decreases
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
waning · verb, adjective
- Proto-Germanic*wanōną“to wane”
- Proto-Germanic*wanōndz
- Old Englishwaniende
- Middle Englishwaninge
- Englishwaning
From Middle English waninge, alteration of earlier waniand, waniende, from Old English waniende, from Proto-Germanic *wanōndz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *wanōną (“to wane”), equivalent to wane + -ing.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →waning · noun
- Proto-Germanic*wanungō
- Old Englishwanung“waning; diminution”
- Middle Englishwaning
- Englishwaning
From Middle English waning, waninge, wonunge, from Old English wanung (“waning; diminution”), from Proto-Germanic *wanungō, equivalent to wane + -ing.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan minvant
- minvantof the lunar phase
Czech mizející, vytrácející se
- mizejícíbecoming weaker or smaller
- vytrácející sebecoming weaker or smaller
- ubývajícíof the lunar phase
Esperanto malkreskanta, malkreska
- malkreskantabecoming weaker or smaller
- malkreskaof the lunar phase
Finnish hupeneva
- hupenevabecoming weaker or smaller
French décroissant, décroissant
- décroissantbecoming weaker or smaller
- décroissantof the lunar phase
- diminutionbecoming weaker or smaller
- décroissanceThe fact or act of becoming smaller
German abnehmen
- abnehmenof the lunar phase
Latin decrescens, senescens
- decrescensof the lunar phase
- senescensof the lunar phase
Polish malejący, słabnący
- malejącybecoming weaker or smaller
- słabnącybecoming weaker or smaller
- blednącyof the lunar phase
Portuguese minguante
- minguanteof the lunar phase
Spanish decreciente, menguar
- decrecientebecoming weaker or smaller
- menguarbecoming weaker or smaller
- menguanteof the lunar phase
- menguabecoming weaker or smaller
- decrecimientoThe fact or act of becoming smaller
Thai แรม
- แรม (rɛɛm)of the lunar phase
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with waning
Anagrams
Cite this entry
waning. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/waning
“waning.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/waning. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “waning,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/waning.
Source: waning on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.