What does wanned mean?
Wanned is a rare English adjective meaning pale, wan, or drained of color, often with the implication of illness, weakness, or exhaustion. It is also recorded archaically as a verb meaning to grow less or diminish, parallel with the older sense of wane; the modern standard past tense is waned. The word belongs to the native Germanic family represented by wan and wane, both associated with deficiency, decline, or loss of strength. In literary use, wanned describes a face or complexion that appears bloodless or faded. Its appearance in older texts can be misleading because it resembles a past form of want, but the standard modern form of that verb is wanted. Today, wanned is chiefly of historical or antiquarian interest rather than part of ordinary vocabulary.
Pale, wan, or drained of color, especially as the result of illness, weakness, or exhaustion.
"The invalid's face was wanned and bloodless."
Chiefly literary or obsolete.
To grow less, diminish, or fade; an archaic variant of wane.
"The moon wanned until only a narrow crescent remained."
Obsolete in standard modern usage; the usual past tense is waned.
Wanned can look like a past tense of want, but its older image is of a face drained of color.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of wanned
Wanned belongs to the word family of wan and wane. The adjective wan comes from Old English wān, meaning “deficient” or “lacking” and by extension “pale,” while wane derives from the related Old English wānian, “to diminish.” The -ed form survives chiefly in obsolete adjective uses and as an archaic variant of the past tense waned.
How wanned is actually used
Rare, literary, and largely obsolete. The adjective now sounds antiquated rather than poetic, while the verb is normally replaced by wane or waned.
Easily confused with wanned
Wanted means desired and is the standard modern past tense and past participle of want, whereas wanned is an old word associated with paleness or decline.