wizened
/ˈwɪzənd/adjective, verb
wizened is spelled W-I-Z-E-N-E-D: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, wizened means “Withered; lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in wizened?
| Letters | 7: W-I-Z-E-N-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 83,271st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is wizened?
Wizened appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st 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 wizened?
- UK /ˈwɪzənd/
- US /ˈwɪzənd/
- US /ˈwaɪzənd/
Wizened 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)-Vealhurl-wizened.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of wizened
- more wizened comparative
- most wizened superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wizened mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Withered; lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness.
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of wizen
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wizened in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense withered:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ratatiné |
| German | runzelig, schrumpelig |
| Portuguese | encarquilhado |
| Spanish | enjuto |
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 wizened come from?
From wizen + -ed. Inherited from Middle English wisenen, from Old English wisnian, weosnian, from Proto-Germanic *wisnōjaną. Cognate with Icelandic visna.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).