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
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 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 Yoda Don’t underestimate the wizened little green guy putzing around with a laser sword. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 3 May 2026 Expect big feelings and a playful, wizened heart. — ABC News, 1 May 2026 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 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 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
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
  • For decades, so much water has been taken that the river seldom meets the sea in Mexico, and its delta, once filled with lush wetlands and forests, has shriveled to stretches of dry riverbed.
    — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026
  • Remove sprouts and avoid potatoes that are soft, shriveled, green, or have long sprouts to stay safe.
    — Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Martha Stewart, 19 July 2026
Definition of shriveled
Adjective
  • Johnny then becomes bonded to a supernatural demon called the Spirit of Vengeance and is able to transform into a flaming, skeletal biker.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 26 July 2026
  • Inspired by the wild, wild West, this collection is full of skeletal cowboys and twisted desert motifs.
    — Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 July 2026
Definition of skeletal
Verb
  • Without the original staffers, though, its X pages have withered with few engagements on most posts.
    — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 24 July 2026
  • Dreams withered under Ashley, but fun and fantasy were always a very Keegan thing.
    — George Caulkin, New York Times, 21 July 2026
Definition of withered
Adjective
  • Xbox, despite its increasingly haggard reputation, has announced backwards compatibility for PC.
    — Mitch Wallace, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of haggard
Verb
  • Unlike shell-in eggs, all commercial egg products, such as liquid, frozen, or dried eggs, must be pasteurized.
    — Amy Brownstein, Verywell Health, 23 July 2026
  • Hutson’s early arrival as a franchise defenseman means that a deal that seemed preposterous before the ink dried has now transcended even that.
    — Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 22 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 1 Aug. 2026.

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