wean
Americanverb (used with object)
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to accustom (a child or young animal) to food other than mother's milk; cause to lose the need to suckle or turn to the mother for food.
-
to withdraw (a person, the affections, one's dependency, etc.) from some object, habit, form of enjoyment, or the like.
The need to reduce had weaned us from rich desserts.
verb phrase
verb
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to cause (a child or young mammal) to replace mother's milk by other nourishment
-
(usually foll by from) to cause to desert former habits, pursuits, etc
noun
Other Word Forms
- postweaning adjective
- preweaning adjective
- unweaned adjective
- weanedness noun
- weaning noun
Etymology
Origin of wean
First recorded before 1000; Middle English wenen, Old English wenian; cognate with Dutch wennen, German gewöhnen, Old Norse venja “to accustom”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The goal of the “analog lifestyle” trend is to wean people off constant digital connectivity by doing tangible activities that help a person reclaim their time.
From Los Angeles Times
That began to change more than a decade ago as China started to wean itself off the dollar, diversifying reserves into gold while pushing for wider use of its own currency.
From Barron's
The Cirebon-1 plant was supposed to be in its final years, with its closure set for early 2035, as part of Indonesia's plans to wean itself from polluting coal with international support.
From Barron's
Three decades after they became Britain's biggest bands, interest in both is still huge - among their original fans and a new generation who were weaned on their songs.
From BBC
His massive social and economic development plan, called Vision 2030, aims to brighten Saudi Arabia’s global image, woo international tourists and high-skilled expatriates from the West and wean the kingdom off its reliance on petrodollars.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
