feign
to represent fictitiously; put on an appearance of: to feign sickness.
to invent fictitiously or deceptively, as a story or an excuse.
to imitate deceptively: to feign another's voice.
to make believe; pretend: She's only feigning, she isn't really ill.
Origin of feign
1synonym study For feign
Other words from feign
- feign·er, noun
Words that may be confused with feign
Words Nearby feign
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use feign in a sentence
They cannot feign ignorance at the end of a journey that was ugly all along.
Hillary, ‘The Family,’ and Uganda’s Anti-Gay Christian Mafia | Sally Kohn | February 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTGive us a moment to feign excitement...TVLine Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy went trick-or-treating together.
New Tina Fey Comedy Coming to NBC, Kanye West Whines About Proposal Video Leak | Culture Team | November 1, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd you have to possess a certain amount of humility—or at least try to feign it from time to time.
The Larry Summers Whodunit: Who Killed His Shot at Running the Fed? | Daniel Gross | September 15, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTBut anyone who can feign a relationship for 40 days can surely do it for one meal.
I could likely feign my way through a short story—a very short story—in Farsi.
Skilled physicians feign indifference to their calling that they may smack of the kennel and the hunting-field.
A Cursory History of Swearing | Julian SharmanShe answered coldly that she could not feign; indifferent she was to everything on earth, indifferent she always should be.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend | Charles ReadeKnoblock's sincere indignation wins, and the secretary backs away from the bedroom as I plunge under the covers and feign sleep.
My Wonderful Visit | Charlie ChaplinSomething prompted Jack to lie still and feign sleep, while he kept his gaze on the man, who was looking fixedly at him.
Two Boys in Wyoming | Edward S. EllisIn addition to the bedtime story, Peter found it necessary to feign great weariness in order to suggest a similar feeling in Pat.
The Boy Grew Older | Heywood Broun
British Dictionary definitions for feign
/ (feɪn) /
to put on a show of (a quality or emotion); pretend: to feign innocence
(tr) to make up; invent: to feign an excuse
(tr) to copy; imitate: to feign someone's laugh
Origin of feign
1Derived forms of feign
- feigner, noun
- feigningly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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