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)
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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:
The White House didn’t plan to disclose the feint, officials said, until the Washington Post revealed it and sparked a media frenzy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
When Ghostface dismisses Gale as “an old irrelevant hag,” there’s no way of telling if that Gen Z dis is a hint, a feint or a mistake.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
Hathaway fell for Paulo Garbisi's feint that opened space for Capuozzo to pop up from nowhere and tap down with a wonderful finish.
From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2025
It's a feint, an effort to scare his opponents into believing his ascension is unstoppable, so they stop fighting him.
From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2023
"They shall not cross, Cat," Edmure scrawled, "Lord Tywin is marching to the southeast. A feint perhaps, or full retreat, it matters not. They shall not cross."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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 narrative is less sucker punch than brilliant feints and jabs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2025
In these situations, he would carry his team upfield using deceptive feints to create space from opponents pressing him.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2025
Marcus feints left with his scim, and when Helene counters, he grins.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Kvaratskhelia feinted to run in behind, then dropped short, then looked to run in behind, dropped short again before eventually running in behind.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
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
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
James feinted slightly to the side, and Edward shifted in response.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
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
Bud snaked his way inside, feinting in the middle distance and eating some shots on the way in — but nothing that rattled him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 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
So she flourished it, feinting to right and left, not intending to hit him at all, and he didn’t move.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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.
