faint
Americanadjective
-
fainter,
comparative
-
faintest
superlative
-
lacking brightness, vividness, clearness, loudness, strength, etc..
a faint light;
a faint color;
a faint sound.
- Synonyms:
- dull, dim, ill-defined, indistinct
-
feeble or slight.
faint resistance;
faint praise;
a faint resemblance.
- Synonyms:
- weak, irresolute
-
feeling weak, dizzy, or exhausted; about to lose consciousness.
faint with hunger.
- Synonyms:
- languid
-
lacking courage; cowardly; timorous.
Faint heart never won fair maid.
- Synonyms:
- dastardly, timid, fearful, pusillanimous
-
Law. unfounded.
a faint action.
verb (used without object)
-
faints,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fainted,
past participle, past
-
fainting
present participle
-
to lose consciousness temporarily.
-
to lose brightness.
-
Archaic. to grow weak; lose spirit or courage.
noun
-
faints
plural
adjective
-
lacking clarity, brightness, volume, etc
a faint noise
-
lacking conviction or force; weak
faint praise
-
feeling dizzy or weak as if about to lose consciousness
-
without boldness or courage; timid (esp in the combination faint-hearted )
-
no idea whatsoever
I haven't the faintest
verb
-
to lose consciousness, esp momentarily, as through weakness
-
archaic to fail or become weak, esp in hope or courage
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
fainternoun
-
faintishnessnoun
-
faintnessnoun
-
overfaintnessnoun
-
faintishadjective
-
overfaintadjective
-
unfaintingadjective
-
faintinglyadverb
-
faintlyadverb
-
overfaintlyadverb
-
unfaintlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
faintsimple
-
faintssimple
-
have faintedperfect
-
has faintedperfect
-
am faintingprogressive
-
are faintingprogressive
-
is faintingprogressive
-
have been faintingperfect progressive
-
has been faintingperfect progressive
Past
-
faintedsimple
-
had faintedperfect
-
was faintingprogressive
-
were faintingprogressive
-
had been faintingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of faint
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French: literally, “feigned,” past participle of faindre, feindre “to feign”; see feign
Explanation
Something faint has no courage or vigor. If you suddenly round the corner and see a gang of bullies staring straight at you, chances are you'll feel faint. Faint comes from the French feindre, for being cowardly or shirking duties. We usually use it to mean without great strength. If you faint, you pass out, from low blood supply to your brain. If you feel faint, you feel weak. Faint also means dim or vague. If you're staring out to sea, you might see the faint outline of an approaching ship. If you really can't remember the answer to something, say you "haven't the faintest idea."
Vocabulary lists containing faint
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The impact on Wednesday happened in broad daylight for many parts of the world, but the tiny flash it produced would have been far too faint to see, even through a telescope.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
The researchers found that these large outflows can continue even when the black hole becomes extremely faint and its activity falls to levels much lower than scientists previously expected.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
Some pieces in Bayouth’s studio have faint, yellow colorations to them that weren’t there before, she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
I saw canopies of Iraqi flags, bodies out every window, everyone dancing to a faint hip-hop pulse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
She shouted his name again and heard it: muffled shouting and a faint, faraway pounding.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Yasser regularly faints when she tries to stand.
From Barron's ● Mar. 22, 2026
When Louise, angling for attention, participates in her church’s Inner Beauty pageant, her talent is holding her breath until she faints.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
In the pilot, the third-year medical student faints the first time in the exam room and has painfully awkward exchanges with her peers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025
When a green resident faints, her fellow physicians wait for her to revive before tossing her back into the fray.
From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2025
What if he’s stuck or trapped somewhere, and faints under the mighty sun?
From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender
As brands go through creative directors like tissues, the connection to what made a house beloved seems to get fainter and fainter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Most cell phones now use two GPS frequency bands -- one that is older and fainter, and a second that is newer and stronger.
From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026
Upcoming eROSITA all-sky scans will allow astronomers to observe even fainter and more distant quasars.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 27, 2025
The more distant the star is, the fainter it appears.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2025
It grew fainter as it moved toward the house.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
By the late 1960s, "he wasn't in the faintest a shy person", Kasmin recalled.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
It’s sprinkled with the faintest touch of spice but happily lacks the tired tropes of most romantasy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
The results revealed how the faintest breeze, just 0.2 meters per second, combined with higher voltage further increased the likelihood of a worm hitting its target.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2025
Even the faintest irritation, say a restaurant chain tinkering with its logo, can summon thousands to the same digital square.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2025
He did not have the faintest idea what he was supposed to do next.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
I learned about chocolatines last year from the Journal’s Joshua Robinson, who fainted from embarrassment when I walked into a Toulouse patisserie and ordered a “chocolatini,” like it was happy hour at an airport Chili’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Charlie Paddock, 27, from south London, also said she "nearly fainted twice and the hot flushes were unreal", while Jess Allingham, 26, said she was "absolutely exhausted, more than normal", and had "total brain fog".
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
One 32-year-old Berliner, Diane, told AFP she had fainted from the heat once already, despite drinking three litres of water.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
The “Messy” hitmaker told Rolling Stone in a recent interview that she was grateful that she fainted onstage late last year, and framed the scary ordeal as a wake-up call.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2026
When the girl fainted, the two men left, but they returned early the next morning and repeated their demand.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
For all its immortal ideas and all those outsized news reports of people fainting, “The Exorcist” could’ve faded from memory if so much of what came after didn’t prove to be a cheap imitation.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
As it worsens, however, it can lead to fatigue, chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting, heart failure, and in some cases premature death.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
Does anyone need to lie down on an official FIFA-issued fainting couch?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
Jurors at Nix's trial heard how she had initially claimed in 1978 that Andrea had taken a bath on her own, and later complained of "itchy legs" before fainting.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
The sheer scope and number of tattoos and piercings would have Mamma fainting.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
