# waning vs waxing

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### waning
*verb · IPA /ˈweɪ.nɪŋ/ · frequency rank #27,334*
present participle and gerund of wane

### waxing
*noun · IPA /ˈwæksɪŋ/ · frequency rank #28,423*
An act of applying wax.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waning-vs-waxing