wizened 1 of 2

adjective

as in gaunt
dry and wrinkled usually because of old age the old man's wizened face

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wizened

2 of 2

verb

past tense of wizen
as in shriveled

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wizened
Adjective
In front of the butcher’s near where the painter lives, a vendor, wizened and bent, sets up shop. — Amir Ahmadi Arian, The Dial, 15 Jan. 2026 Expect big feelings and a playful, wizened heart. — ABC News, 1 May 2026 But more alarming than the ways in which this physical space could turn against us was the simple metaphor of a wizened little man pulling a boat down a river in the dark. — Ann Patchett, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025 Yoda Don’t underestimate the wizened little green guy putzing around with a laser sword. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 3 May 2026 His wizened next-door neighbors (Mary Woodvine and Adrian Rawlins) are younger, mistaking him for their son Luke, a former crew member of the Rose of Nevada who died by suicide. — Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026 Arsenal also agreed a deal for another teenager, the 16-year-old Shamrock Rovers midfielder Victor Ozhianvuna, a wizened old veteran by comparison. — Nick Miller, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025 Nobody has ever wanted to watch the singer from Foreigner play baseball against Wally Joyner and a wizened Bobby Brady, and yet MTV leaned on the less-than-spectacular spectacle throughout the ‘90s. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 12 June 2026 While the beautiful people always display youth (even if it’s paid for), the always original Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio was unrecognizable, doubling his actual age of 32 with wizened grey hair, beard and bushy eyebrows, prosthetic wrinkles and a cane. — Merle Ginsberg, HollywoodReporter, 5 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wizened
  1. gaunt
  2. shriveled
  3. skeletal
  4. withered
  5. haggard
  6. dried
Adjective
  • The church’s punishment, however, delivered in front of the congregants, is an eerie ritual performed by a gaunt, severe visitor (Nicholas Hope).
    — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
  • Brig is in the Upper Valais, a gaunt and conservative place where the inhabitants speak Walliser German, an Alpine dialect that many Swiss people find unintelligible.
    — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Definition of gaunt
Verb
  • The skin split, the ends were shriveled, and the texture was limp.
    — Dianna Douglas, NPR, 28 June 2026
  • Next, look for any dead tissue, which may appear brown, dry, or shriveled.
    — SJ McShane, Martha Stewart, 24 May 2026
Definition of shriveled
Adjective
  • There are existing methods for cleaning skeletal remains, such as burial, digestive enzymes, or chemical treatments.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 1 July 2026
  • An experiment on mice conducted by a team of researchers from Texas A&M University has revealed a healing sequence in mammalian physiology that rebuilds lost skeletal structure, albeit with less than perfect results.
    — Mike McRae June 28, New Atlas, 28 June 2026
Definition of skeletal
Verb
  • Syracuse’s downtown, already severed by the interstate highway, withered.
    — Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, 30 June 2026
  • After all, there’s a reason these rugs haven’t withered away.
    — Michelle Mastro, The Spruce, 29 June 2026
Definition of withered
Adjective
  • Rocking back and forth nervously during a television appearance, a haggard-looking Diaz-Canel acknowledged the same talks, which his government had denied were taking place just days before.
    — Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 22 Mar. 2026
  • Wrexham, meanwhile, was near the bottom, struggling in England’s lowest division under a haggard fan-ownership group keeping it on life support.
    — Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Definition of haggard
Verb
  • The remaining cathode material is dried and ground into a fine black powder.
    — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 2 July 2026
  • The fins were dried, collected and later analyzed by researchers.
    — Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of dried

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Cite this Entry

“Wizened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wizened. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of wizened for Spanish Speakers

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