Through the frayed curtain at my window, a wan glow announces the break of day.
She now seemed very happy to see a friendly (albeit wan) face.
His hair seemed grayer, his face wan.
He walked stiffly, looking wan and serious.
They glide with wan and wavy motion.
Supermarkets are full of the same wan, waxy fruit they sell all year long.
She does not bother to put make-up on her wan face, with its dark-circled eyes and down-turned mouth.
To the researchers there, the spectacular laser is visible only as a wan beam on a computer monitor.
He responded with a shrug and a wan smile, and then returned to focusing on the work at hand.
The owner brought me more tea and another wan smile.
British Dictionary definitions for wan
wan
/wɒn/
adjective wanner, wannest
1.
unnaturally pale esp from sickness, grief, etc
2.
characteristic or suggestive of ill health, unhappiness, etc
3.
(of light, stars, etc) faint or dim
verb wans, wanning, wanned
4.
to make or become wan
Derived Forms
wanly, adverb wanness, noun
Word Origin
Old English wann dark; related to wanian to wane
WAN
abbreviation
1.
wide area network
2.
Nigeria (international car registration)
Word Origin
From W(est) A(frica) N(igeria)
Word Origin and History for wan
adj.
Old English wann "dark, 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.
wan in Science
WAN
(wān) Short for wide area network.A communications network that uses such devices as telephone lines, satellite dishes, or radio waves to span a larger geographic area than can be covered by a LAN. The Internet is a WAN.