faintly

Synonyms
1. indistinct, ill-defined, dim, faded, dull, 2. faltering, irresolute, weak. 3. languid. 4. pusillanimous, fearful, timid, dastardly. 6. pass out, black out.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To faintly

Collins

World English Dictionary

faint (feɪnt)

—*adj*
1.	lacking clarity, brightness, volume, etc: a faint noise
2.	lacking conviction or force; weak: faint praise
3.	feeling dizzy or weak as if about to lose consciousness
4.	without boldness or courage; timid (esp in the combination faint-hearted)
5.	not the faintest, not the faintest idea, not the faintest notion no idea whatsoever: I haven't the faintest

—vb
6.	to lose consciousness, esp momentarily, as through weakness
7.	archaic, poetic or to fail or become weak, esp in hope or courage

—n
8.	Technical name: syncope a sudden spontaneous loss of consciousness, usually momentary, caused by an insufficient supply of blood to the brain

[C13: from Old French, from faindre to be idle]

'fainter

—n

'faintingly

—*adv*

'faintish

—*adj*

'faintishness

—n

'faintly

—*adv*

'faintness

—n

faint (feɪnt)

—*adj*
1.	lacking clarity, brightness, volume, etc: a faint noise
2.	lacking conviction or force; weak: faint praise
3.	feeling dizzy or weak as if about to lose consciousness
4.	without boldness or courage; timid (esp in the combination faint-hearted)
5.	not the faintest, not the faintest idea, not the faintest notion no idea whatsoever: I haven't the faintest

—vb
6.	to lose consciousness, esp momentarily, as through weakness
7.	archaic, poetic or to fail or become weak, esp in hope or courage

—n
8.	Technical name: syncope a sudden spontaneous loss of consciousness, usually momentary, caused by an insufficient supply of blood to the brain

[C13: from Old French, from faindre to be idle]

'fainter

—n

'faintingly

—*adv*

'faintish

—*adj*

'faintishness

—n

'faintly

—*adv*

'faintness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

faint

c.1300, "wanting in courage," now mostly in faint-hearted (mid-15c.), from O.Fr. faint "soft, weak, sluggish," pp. of faindre "avoid one's duty by pretending" (see feign). Sense of "weak, feeble" is early 14c. Meaning "producing a feeble impression upon the senses" is from

1650s. The verb originally meant "to lose heart" (mid-14c.); sense of "swoon" is c.1400. Related: Fainted; fainting.

faintly

late 13c., from faint + -ly (2).

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

faint (fānt)
n.
An abrupt, usually brief loss of consciousness; an attack of syncope. adj.
Extremely weak; threatened with syncope.

faint v.

Example sentences

One also detects a faintly distorting pressure sometimes in his

generalizations, which is again attributable to the personal note.

Understated irony, ever so faintly tinged with melancholy, was his style.

The topic was the economy, and some of the themes and patterns faintly echoed

our own.

Neither name, however, expresses even faintly the fondness those cultures have

for the soybean.

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Matching Quote

"The great, the rich, the powerful, too often bestow their favours upon their inferiors in the manner they bestow their scraps upon their dogs, so as neither to oblige man nor dogs. It is no wonder if favours, benefits, and even charities thus bestowed ungraciously, should be as coldly and faintly acknowledged."

-Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield, 4th Earl