Wan vs. Wax — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Maham Liaqat — Updated on April 20, 2024
"Wan" refers to appearing pale and weak, often suggesting ill health or fatigue, while "wax" means to increase or grow, used figuratively to describe something becoming stronger or more intense.
Difference Between Wan and Wax
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
"Wan" is typically used to describe a person's pale or sickly appearance, indicating physical or emotional distress. On the other hand, "wax" can describe an increase in size, numbers, or intensity, often used in contexts like the waxing moon, which grows fuller, or emotions that intensify.
"Wan" often carries connotations of feebleness and is frequently associated with descriptions of someone's complexion or demeanor that lacks vitality. Whereas, "wax" implies a progression or escalation, such as waxing poetic, where one becomes increasingly eloquent or enthusiastic about a subject.
The term "wan" is used to signify diminishment in vibrancy or health, typically in a quiet, subdued manner. Conversely, "wax" signifies growth or expansion, whether it’s in the context of natural phenomena, like the moon, or in the figurative expansion of feelings or ideas.
In literary and everyday language, someone might be described as looking wan in the face of adversity, suggesting a visible decline in their wellbeing. On the other hand, someone might wax lyrical about an inspiring experience, indicating an increase in enthusiasm and expressive detail.
While "wan" is almost exclusively used to describe appearances and sometimes emotional states, "wax" is versatile, used both in literal contexts (like the moon's phases) and metaphorically (like increasing interest or sentiment).
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Pale and giving the impression of illness
Increase or grow in size, number, or intensity
Usage
Descriptive of health or vitality
Descriptive of growth or intensification
Connotation
Ill health, fatigue
Growth, intensification
Typical Use
Physical appearance, emotional state
Natural phenomena, emotions, discussions
Example
"She looked wan and tired."
"His enthusiasm waxed as he spoke."
Compare with Definitions
Wan
Diminished in intensity or brightness.
The wan glow of the city lights at night.
Wax
To begin to speak or write about something in an increasingly enthusiastic manner.
He waxed poetic about the virtues of ancient philosophies.
Wan
Lacking color, suggesting ill health.
The wan light of dawn did little to warm the room.
Wax
To grow or become.
Her interest in the project waxed over time.
Wan
Reflecting weariness or sadness.
Her wan expression spoke volumes about her stress.
Wax
To enhance or expand in expression or detail.
She waxed eloquent in her description of the landscape.
Wan
Feeble or faint from sickness or fatigue.
He gave a wan smile that failed to hide his exhaustion.
Wax
To increase gradually in size, number, strength, or intensity.
The moon waxes each night until it is full.
Wan
Pale and appearing weak.
After hours of work without rest, her face turned wan.
Wax
Increase in extent or quantity.
His fears waxed as the deadline approached.
Wan
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.
Wax
Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to give low viscosity liquids.
Wan
Unnaturally pale, as from physical or emotional distress.
Wax
A sticky yellowish mouldable substance secreted by honeybees as the material of a honeycomb; beeswax.
Wan
Suggestive or indicative of weariness, illness, or unhappiness; melancholy
A wan expression.
Wax
Used in reference to records
He didn't get on wax until 1959
Wan
To become pale.
Wax
A fit of anger
She is in a wax about the delay to the wedding
Wan
Pale, sickly-looking.
Wax
Cover or treat (something) with wax or a similar substance, typically to polish or protect it
I washed and waxed the floor
Wan
Dim, faint.
Wax
Make a recording of
He waxed a series of tracks that emphasized his lead guitar work
Wan
Bland, uninterested.
A wan expression
Wax
(of the moon between new and full) have a progressively larger part of its visible surface illuminated, increasing its apparent size.
Wan
The quality of being wan; wanness.
Wax
Begin to speak or write about something in the specified manner
They waxed lyrical about the old days
Wan
Pronunciation spelling of one
Wax
Any of various natural, oily or greasy heat-sensitive substances, consisting of hydrocarbons or esters of fatty acids that are insoluble in water but soluble in nonpolar organic solvents.
Wan
(Ireland) A girl or woman.
Wax
Beeswax.
Wan
(obsolete) win.
Wax
Earwax.
Wan
Won.
Wax
A solid plastic or pliable liquid substance, such as ozocerite or paraffin, originating from petroleum and found in rock layers and used in paper coating, as insulation, in crayons, and often in medicinal preparations.
Wan
Having a pale or sickly hue; languid of look; pale; pallid.
My color . . . [is] wan and of a leaden hue.
Why so pale and wan, fond lover?
With the wan moon overhead.
Wax
A preparation containing wax used for polishing floors and other surfaces.
Wan
The quality of being wan; wanness.
Tinged with wan from lack of sleep.
Wax
A resinous mixture used by shoemakers to rub on thread.
Wan
To grow wan; to become pale or sickly in looks.
And ever he mutter'd and madden'd, and ever wann'd with despair.
Wax
A cosmetic procedure in which facial or body hair is removed by peeling away a layer of wax that has been allowed to harden.
Wan
A computer network that spans a wider area than does a local area network
Wax
A fit of anger
"All at once you would suddenly find yourself reverting to childish attitudes, flaring up in a wax with some fellow" (Frank O'Connor).
Wan
Become pale and sickly
Wax
Made of wax
A wax candle.
Wan
(of light) lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble;
The pale light of a half moon
A pale sun
The late afternoon light coming through the el tracks fell in pale oblongs on the street
A pallid sky
The pale (or wan) stars
The wan light of dawn
Wax
To coat, treat, or polish with wax.
Wan
Abnormally deficient in color as suggesting physical or emotional distress;
The pallid face of the invalid
Her wan face suddenly flushed
Wax
To remove (facial or body hair) by covering the skin with a layer of wax that is peeled off after hardening, uprooting the encased hairs.
Wan
Lacking vitality as from weariness or illness or unhappiness;
A wan smile
Wax
To remove hair from (a portion of the body) by this method.
Wax
To increase gradually in size, number, strength, or intensity
“His love affair with Mrs. Bernstein waxed and waned and waxed again” (C. Hugh Holman).
Wax
To show a progressively larger illuminated area, as the moon does in passing from new to full.
Wax
To grow or become as specified
“His very body had waxed old in lowly service of the Lord” (James Joyce).
Wax
To speak or write as specified
“[He] warmed to his most favorite of subjects, waxed eloquent, gained in his face a glow of passion” (Paul J. Willis).
Wax
Beeswax.
Wax
Earwax.
What role does the wax in your earhole fulfill?
Wax
Any oily, water-resistant, solid or semisolid substance; normally long-chain hydrocarbons, alcohols or esters.
Wax
Any preparation containing wax, used as a polish.
Wax
The phonograph record format for music.
Wax
A thick syrup made by boiling down the sap of the sugar maple and then cooling it.
Wax
A type of drugs with as main ingredients weed oil and butane; hash oil.
Wax
(rare) The process of growing.
Wax
An outburst of anger, a loss of temper, a fit of rage.
Wax
Made of wax.
Wax
(transitive) To apply wax to (something, such as a shoe, a floor, a car, or an apple), usually to make it shiny.
Wax
(transitive) To remove hair at the roots from (a part of the body) by coating the skin with a film of wax that is then pulled away sharply.
Wax
To defeat utterly.
Wax
To kill, especially to murder a person.
Wax
To record.
Wax
To increasingly assume the specified characteristic.
To wax eloquent
Wax
To grow.
Wax
To appear larger each night as a progression from a new moon to a full moon.
Wax
To move from low tide to high tide.
Wax
To increase in size; to grow bigger; to become larger or fuller; - opposed to wane.
The waxing and the waning of the moon.
Truth's treasures . . . never shall wax ne wane.
Wax
To pass from one state to another; to become; to grow; as, to wax strong; to wax warmer or colder; to wax feeble; to wax old; to wax worse and worse.
Your clothes are not waxen old upon you.
Where young Adonis oft reposes,Waxing well of his deep wound.
Wax
To smear or rub with wax; to treat with wax; as, to wax a thread or a table.
Wax
A fatty, solid substance, produced by bees, and employed by them in the construction of their comb; - usually called beeswax. It is first excreted, from a row of pouches along their sides, in the form of scales, which, being masticated and mixed with saliva, become whitened and tenacious. Its natural color is pale or dull yellow.
Wax
Hence, any substance resembling beeswax in consistency or appearance.
Wax
Cerumen, or earwax.
Wax
A waxlike composition used for uniting surfaces, for excluding air, and for other purposes; as, sealing wax, grafting wax, etching wax, etc.
Wax
A waxlike composition used by shoemakers for rubbing their thread.
Wax
A substance similar to beeswax, secreted by several species of scale insects, as the Chinese wax. See Wax insect, below.
Wax
A waxlike product secreted by certain plants. See Vegetable wax, under Vegetable.
Wax
A substance, somewhat resembling wax, found in connection with certain deposits of rock salt and coal; - called also mineral wax, and ozocerite.
Wax
Thick sirup made by boiling down the sap of the sugar maple, and then cooling.
Wax
Any of numerous substances or mixtures composed predominantly of the longer-chain saturated hydrocarbons such as the paraffins, which are solid at room teperature, or their alcohol, carboxylic acid, or ester derivatives.
Wax
Any of various substances of either mineral origin or plant or animal origin; they are solid at normal temperatures and insoluble in water
Wax
Cover with wax;
Wax the car
Wax
Go up or advance;
Sales were climbing after prices were lowered
Wax
Increase in phase;
The moon is waxing
Common Curiosities
Can "wan" describe something other than a person's appearance?
While primarily used for appearance, "wan" can metaphorically describe any situation or object that lacks vitality or brightness.
How is "wax" used in relation to the moon?
"Wax" is used to describe the moon’s phase increasing towards fullness.
Does "wax" relate only to tangible growth?
"Wax" can refer to both tangible and intangible growth, including emotions, interests, and physical phenomena.
What professions might use "wax" in a technical sense?
Astronomers and other scientific professionals might use "wax" when discussing phases of celestial bodies or natural cycles.
What does it mean to "wax lyrical" about something?
To "wax lyrical" means to speak or write about something with growing enthusiasm and elaborate detail.
How do "wan" and "wax" function in literature?
In literature, "wan" often describes settings or characters in bleak, subdued tones, while "wax" is used to portray development or escalation in action or themes.
How might "wax" be used to describe a conversation?
In a conversation, someone might "wax" on a topic, meaning they talk more and more enthusiastically or at length about it.
How could one visually represent "wan" in art?
In art, "wan" could be represented by using pale, subdued colors and shades to depict scenes or characters that appear weak or ill.
What does "wan" typically indicate about a person's health?
"Wan" usually indicates that a person looks pale and weak, often suggesting poor health or fatigue.
Is "wax" always used in a positive context?
Not necessarily; while it often describes growth or increase, the context can be negative, such as fears or risks waxing.
Can the use of "wan" imply emotional states?
Yes, "wan" can imply subdued or weary emotional states, not just physical appearance.
Is "wan" ever used positively?
Typically, "wan" is not used in a positive context; it almost always suggests something negative like sickness or lack of strength.
What is the etymological origin of "wan" and "wax"?
"Wan" comes from Old English "wann" meaning dark and gloomy, while "wax" comes from Old English "weaxan" meaning to grow.
What visual imagery might "wan" conjure in a narrative?
"Wan" might evoke images of dim lighting, pallid faces, or faded colors, emphasizing a lack of energy or health.
Can "wax" describe a decrease?
No, "wax" specifically refers to an increase; its opposite, "wane," is used to describe a decrease.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
