waxing and waning
Growing then shrinking
Waxing and waning describes cyclical increase and decrease—growing stronger then weaker, fuller then emptier.
The phrase comes from the moon's phases: waxing as it fills toward full, waning as it shrinks toward new.
It applies to anything that fluctuates over time: Her enthusiasm was waxing and waning throughout the project.
The pattern suggests natural rhythm rather than erratic change.
- lunarOf the moon
- lunar cycleMoon's orbital period
- moonNatural planetary satellite
- full moonCompletely lit satellite phase
- new moonUnlit lunar phase
harvest moon · phases · cycles · tides · tidal pull · crescent · gibbous · ebbing · flowing · push and pull · swelling · shrinking · growing · fading · rising · falling · coming and going · oscillating
- cycleslife cycle, cycle, circle of life, cycles, period
- natural rhythmstides, waves, high tide, low tide, cycles
- Ticstics, twitch, twitching, blink, blinking
- oscillationoscillation, back and forth, back-and-forth, to and fro, ebb and flow
waxing and waningconstant
Fixed, unvarying quantity
unchanging · steady · stable · fixed · immutable
waxing and waningregulated
Made to follow rules
controlled · maintained · stabilized · modulated · calibrated
waxing and waninglinear growth
Increase at constant rate
monotonic · one-way · irreversible · progressive · unidirectional