wan
pronunciation
How to pronounce wan in British English:
UK [wɒn]
How to pronounce wan in American English:
US [wɑn]
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- Verb:
- become pale and sickly
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- Adjective:
- (of light) lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble
- abnormally deficient in color as suggesting physical or emotional distress
- lacking vitality as from weariness or illness or unhappiness
Word Origin
- wan (adj.)
- Old English wann "dark, dusky, lacking luster," later "leaden, pale, gray," of uncertain origin, and not found in other Germanic languages. The connecting notion is colorlessness. Perhaps related to wane. Related: Wanly; wanness.
Example
- 1. Wan started out as a factory worker whose university studies as a mature student were curtailed by an eye injury .
- 2. Wan yanhai , the founder of the aids organization aizhixing institute , moved to the united states last may , claiming government harassment had made it impossible to carry out his work .
- 3. He looks miserable : his beautiful face is drawn and wan .
- 4. " Sometimes I feel like we are playing a complicated game with the government , " mr. wan said . " No one knows where the line is , but we just keep pushing . "
- 5. In an essay published last january in foreign policy , wan cited last year 's grisly attacks on schoolchildren and the suicides of several young workers at a sprawling foxconn factory assembling iphones in southern china .