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
Few signs of humanity interrupted the rocky shoreline — just a couple of cabins and the wooden railings of a path leading to a wizened cedar tree revered by the tribe. — Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wizened
  1. gaunt
  2. shriveled
  3. skeletal
  4. withered
  5. haggard
  6. dried
Adjective
  • As her pregnancy progressed, Kabita’s belly swelled while the rest of her remained gaunt.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • On the first day of the hearing, July 22, Salah Sarsour's brother, Mohammad Sarsour, testified that his brother appeared gaunt and dirty and complained of pain and inadequate medical care during his detention in an Israeli jail.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of gaunt
Verb
  • Wild pheasants use it all, and after late November they’ll be concentrated in the heavy cover because crop fields are gleaned and frost will have shriveled a lot of vegetation.
    — Ron Spomer, Outdoor Life, 19 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of shriveled
Adjective
  • Like trees that produce annual growth rings, corals add skeletal layers of calcium carbonate year after year.
    — Julia Cole, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Who’s flaunting their skeletal frame and who hides a bit behind a couture wall of feathers?
    — Marti Noxon, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of skeletal
Verb
  • As Florida’s winter dry season stretched into a near rainless wet season, the central Everglades has withered into extreme drought conditions.
    — Jenny Staletovich, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Fruits—except for rose hips, withered wild grapes and perhaps a few others—are pretty much gone.
    — Tom Huggler, Outdoor Life, 13 Aug. 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
  • Fruit from the cacao tree contains beans that, when dried and roasted, produce chocolate in all its glorious forms.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Users usually chew it for an effect similar to amphetamines, or it is dried and boiled to create a stimulant tea.
    — Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 25 Aug. 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 2 Sep. 2026.

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