12 words starting with W

• waft verb

  to drift gently through the air

  The smell of fresh bread wafted from the bakery.

  Like drift, float, glide

• waggish adjective

  playfully humorous and mischievous

  His waggish remarks kept the whole bus laughing on the long trip.

  Like playful, jokey, witty

• wan adjective

  pale and looking tired or unwell; faint

  She looked wan after staying up late to finish her project.

  Like pale, pallid, ashen

• wanton adjective

  deliberate and without good reason; uncontrolled

  The wanton waste of food at the party upset the cook.

  Like reckless, needless, gratuitous

• welter noun

  a large, confused mass or jumble

  The student was lost in a welter of notes, books and papers.

  Like jumble, mass, tangle

• wheedle verb

  to persuade someone through flattery or coaxing

  The children wheedled an extra hour of television out of their father.

  Like coax, cajole, persuade

• wily adjective

  clever at tricking people to get what one wants

  The wily fox found a way into the chicken coop.

  Like cunning, crafty, sly

• winnow verb

  to blow the husks away from grain; to separate the useful from the useless

  The farmers winnowed the rice by tossing it in flat bamboo trays.

  Like sift, separate, sort

• winsome adjective

  attractive and charming in a sweet, innocent way

  The puppy’s winsome face made everyone want to pet it.

  Like charming, endearing, appealing

• witticism noun

  a clever, funny remark

  His witticism about the slow internet made the meeting laugh.

  Like quip, joke, bon mot

• wizened adjective

  shrunken and wrinkled with age

  The wizened old apples had been forgotten at the back of the shelf.

  Like wrinkled, shriveled, withered

• wraith noun

  a ghost or ghostlike figure

  The mist drifting between the trees looked like a wraith.

  Like ghost, specter, phantom