feint
Americannoun
-
feints
plural
-
a movement made in order to deceive an adversary; an attack aimed at one place or point merely as a distraction from the real place or point of attack.
military feints; the feints of a skilled fencer.
-
a feigned or assumed appearance.
His air of approval was a feint to conceal his real motives.
verb (used without object)
-
feints,
present (3rd person singular)
-
feinted,
past participle, past
-
feinting
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
feints,
present (3rd person singular)
-
feinted,
past participle, past
-
feinting
present participle
-
to make a feint at; deceive with a feint.
-
to make a false show of; simulate.
noun
-
a mock attack or movement designed to distract an adversary, as in a military manoeuvre or in boxing, fencing, etc
-
a misleading action or appearance
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
feintsimple
-
feintssimple
-
have feintedperfect
-
has feintedperfect
-
am feintingprogressive
-
are feintingprogressive
-
is feintingprogressive
-
have been feintingperfect progressive
-
has been feintingperfect progressive
Past
-
feintedsimple
-
had feintedperfect
-
was feintingprogressive
-
were feintingprogressive
-
had been feintingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of feint
First recorded in 1670–80; from French feinte, from Old French feinte “fabrication,” noun use of feminine of feint “pretended,” past participle of feindre; see origin at feign
Explanation
Did you ever tell your parents you were going off to school, grabbed your book bag, and headed out the door...only to spend the rest of the day hanging out with your friends? Well, that was a feint, a super sneaky move designed to fool someone. Although military and political tactics are big on feints, their most common use is probably in sports — particularly boxing, where opponents are continually trying to fake each other out. As in Dundee's account of an Ali-Frazier match: "Ali feinted with a jab, and Frazier threw one of his own, missing." Not to be confused with faint, meaning "weak or feeble." However, a feint can be deliberately faint, as Ali knew and Frazier found out when the real right hook made contact.
Vocabulary lists containing feint
The Lightning Thief
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Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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The Hobbit
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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:
It’s a bit of a feint, because the game is also going to be aired on its free broadcast daddy, ABC.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
In effect, the Leipzig attack was like a maneuver in a war game, or a feint.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
The name is a feint: There’s nothing goth about his chipper electronic pop, which often feels tailor-made for DJ sets in exotic locations, a crowd swaying as the sun sinks in the background.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
A little shimmy in the area to feint away from a defender, then a precise curling finish into the top corner.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
This position in the orchestra, but putative, conceived as a feint to draw me away from my fellows so that rogues might throw me in chains—this phantasm might now be conjured to solidity.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
War is filled with flopping, feints and trickery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
It was the culmination of a series of feints and bluffs in the preceding hours and days as the former reality TV star kept the world guessing.
From Barron's ● Feb. 28, 2026
The film’s feints and twists are fabulous as they explore how the internet’s promise has soured.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026
After throwing a few early feints to get a read on his opponent, Itauma started to unload and quickly found the range for his heavy hands.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2025
Marcus feints left with his scim, and when Helene counters, he grins.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Politano turned provider two minutes before halftime as he sent Kvaratskhelia down the left and the winger cut inside, feinted and then squeezed a shot between Verona goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipò and the near post.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 21, 2023
The fight begun with both athletes showing patience as Volkanovski feinted and switched stances, while Makhachev looked for openings.
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2023
Juventus turned the match around completely two minutes later when Vlahović ran onto a through-ball and into the area and feinted his way past Inter defender Danilo D’Ambrosio.
From Seattle Times ● May 11, 2022
The battle on film was a sequence of explosive lunges: mauve, black, gold and scarlet feathers flying as the birds leapt, feinted and struck out with talons.
From New York Times ● Aug. 18, 2021
She feinted left again, then came at him from the right with the full force of her body.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
The fight started with the Briton pushing forward, as he would throughout the following 25 minutes, feinting and landing leg kicks, while chants of "Colby, Colby" rung out around the arena.
From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2023
The senior pulled out to the elbow before feinting right, going left, dusting her defender and streaking to the goal.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 27, 2023
They envision themselves bobbing and weaving, triangulating and feinting — filling the air with meaningless cliches so that no one knows where they stand and no one can hold them accountable.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2023
Moore for a 10-yard score — a pass made possible by Newton stepping up in the pocket, feinting a scramble to draw in the safety to leave Moore open.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 21, 2021
Jabbing and feinting, he edged sideways, putting the fire between them once more.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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