waning
/ˈweɪ.nɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
waning is spelled W-A-N-I-N-G: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,150th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, waning means “Becoming weaker or smaller” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in waning?
| Letters | 6: W-A-N-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,150th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is waning?
Waning appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,150th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce waning?
- /ˈweɪ.nɪŋ/
Waning has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Persent101-waning.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with waning?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as waning.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: awning.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of waning
- wanings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does waning mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Becoming weaker or smaller.
my waning patience
- 2
Of the lunar phase: as it shrinks when viewed from the Earth.
the waning moon
noun
- 1
The fact or act of becoming less or less intense or present; fading.
the waning of her energy
- 2
The fact or act of becoming smaller.
17th century, Joseph Hall, Epistle to Mr. R. B. This earthly moon, the Church, hath her fulls and wanings, and sometimes her eclipses.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of wane
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Waning in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | décroissant, diminution , décroissance |
| Spanish | decreciente, menguar, mengua , decrecimiento , menguante |
| German | abnehmen |
| Portuguese | minguante |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does waning come from?
From Middle English waninge, alteration of earlier waniand, waniende, from Old English waniende, from Proto-Germanic *wanōndz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *wanōną (“to wane”), equivalent to wane + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).