Definition
To wane is to shrink the way the moon does — by nightly degrees, on a schedule older than the word itself, which comes from Old English wanian, 'to lessen'. Enthusiasm wanes, influence wanes, daylight wanes toward winter. Two graces distinguish it from mere decline: waning is gradual, and it is often part of a cycle — what wanes may wax again. The set phrase 'wax and wane' keeps the whole moon inside the language.
Examples
- Public enthusiasm for the project waned as the costs kept rising.
- By late autumn the daylight wanes noticeably before five o'clock.
- The empire's influence waxed and waned over four centuries.
Synonyms
decline · diminish · fade · ebb · dwindle
In TOEFL & IELTS
A precision verb for IELTS Writing Task 1 downward trends ('interest waned steadily') and a TOEFL reading regular in history and astronomy passages. Learn it as half of the pair 'wax and wane' — describing anything that strengthens and weakens cyclically earns immediate credit. Close cousin: 'on the wane' (in decline).