Nearby Words
adjective
1.
lacking brightness, vividness, clearness, loudness, strength, etc.: a faint light; a faint color; a faint sound.
2.
feeble or slight: faint resistance; faint praise; a faint resemblance.
3.
feeling weak, dizzy, or exhausted; about to lose consciousness: faint with hunger.
4.
lacking courage; cowardly; timorous: Faint heart never won fair maid.
5.
Law. unfounded: a faint action.
verb (used without object)
6.
to lose consciousness temporarily.
7.
to lose brightness.
8.
Archaic. to grow weak; lose spirit or courage.
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Faintness
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
noun
9.
a temporary loss of consciousness resulting from a decreased flow of blood to the brain; a swoon: to fall into a faint.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French, past participle of faindre, variant of feindre to feign
1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French, past participle of faindre, variant of feindre to feign
Related forms
faint·er, noun
faint·ing·ly, adverb
faint·ish, adjective
faint·ish·ness, noun
faint·ly, adverb
EXPANDfaint·ness, noun
o·ver·faint, adjective
o·ver·faint·ly, adverb
o·ver·faint·ness, noun
un·faint·ing, adjective
un·faint·ly, adverb
COLLAPSESynonyms
1. indistinct, ill-defined, dim, faded, dull, 2. faltering, irresolute, weak. 3. languid. 4. pusillanimous, fearful, timid, dastardly. 6. pass out, black out.
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. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To faintness
Collins
World English Dictionary
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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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
EXPAND1650s. The verb originally meant "to lose heart" (mid-14c.); sense of "swoon" is c.1400. Related: Fainted; fainting.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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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.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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