Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 15, 2024 is: wane \WAYN\ verb To wane is to become smaller or less, or in other words, to decrease in size, extent, or degree. // The national scandal caused her popularity to wane. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wane) Examples: “In 2023, Royal Caribbean's bookings hit an all-time high ahead of the launch of its newest ship, the Icon of the Seas. Interest has yet to wane: The three strongest booking weeks in the company’s history were at the start of 2024 and ‘wave season,’ when cruise lines typically roll out flashy discounts to incentivize reservations.” — Brittany Chang, Business Insider, 20 Mar. 2024 Did you know? In her book Braiding Sweetgrass, scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer, an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, recounts some of the stories of her people surrounding [Windigos](https://www.britannica.com/topic/wendigo), fearsome, shrieking monsters that prey on human flesh: “The Windigo is most powerful in the Hungry Times. With the warm breezes his power wanes.” Wane is a verb used when something—such as strength, power, or influence—decreases or diminishes, usually with the implication that the lessening is gradual, natural, or—as in the case of the Windigo—seasonal. Daylight wanes, as does summer. In a classroom, one’s attention may be said to wane if, minute by minute, one becomes more interested in watching birds through the window than following the points of the professor’s lecture. For centuries, wane has also been called upon to describe the seeming decrease in the size of the moon in the later [phases](https://www.britannica.com/science/lunar-phases) of the lunar cycle. The traditional opposite of wane is [wax](https://bit.ly/3JqxWSK), a once common but now rare synonym of grow. Wane and wax have been partnered in references to the moon since the Middle Ages.