WIZENED Synonyms: 74 Similar and Opposite Words

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

Adjective

The group last played a public show on July 18 in Valdosta, Georgia, following an uneven few months where Love appeared gaunt and sang in a raspy, diminished voice.

— Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2026
Apple was widely criticized in the late 2000s for not volunteering more information about Jobs’ health, especially as concerns about his gaunt appearance battered the company’s shares.

— Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of gaunt

Verb

As sprouting progresses, the sweet potato may become softer, shriveled, or less flavorful.

— Lynn Andriani, Martha Stewart, 4 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of shriveled

Adjective

But the archaeologists who excavated the new skeletal fragments from Shanidar Cave in the Kurdistan region of Iraq say the fossils weave a complex tale of Neanderthal life and death, beyond what appeared to be deliberate violence.

— Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026
Leon has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, skeletal dysplasia and microcephaly.

— Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of skeletal

Verb

Those production lines were shut down after the Soviet breakup in 1991, and the industry has since mostly withered.

— Andrew E. Kramer, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026
The throuple moved into faculty housing, where Lakofski withered, depressed by life in a conventional apartment.

— Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of withered

Adjective

The songs on Purdy also have the tone of journal entries, detailing haggard trips to the grocery store, daydreams about his young daughters’ glamorous adult lives, and observations about the banality of oppression.

— Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026
Xbox, despite its increasingly haggard reputation, has announced backwards compatibility for PC.

— Mitch Wallace, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

Definition of haggard

Verb

That gives the gin a pale yellow color, and adds barrel notes of oak and dried fruit to a palate shaped by botanicals including juniper, queen of the night (a nocturnal cactus flower), coriander seed, Damask rose, and Nigerian ginger.

— Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 15 Oct. 2026
About a month after the ink dried on that contract, Kim, who had slipped on ice and fallen while in his native Korea, had surgery to repair a tendon on his right middle finger.

— Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of dried

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wizen

wizened

wizening

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“Wizened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wizened. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of wizened

adjective

verb

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