fainéant
[ fey-nee-uhnt; French fe-ney-ahn ]
/ ˈfeɪ ni ənt; French fɛ neɪˈɑ̃ /
Save This Word!
adjective
Also fai·ne·ant [fey-nee-uhnt]. /ˈfeɪ ni ənt/. idle; indolent.
noun, plural fai·né·ants [fey-nee-uhnts; French fe-ney-ahn]. /ˈfeɪ ni ənts; French fɛ neɪˈɑ̃/.
an idler.
QUIZ
SPRINT TO THE FINISH WITH THIS OLYMPICS QUIZ!
Compete in our Olympics quiz to see if you can take home the gold medal in Olympics knowledge.
Question 1 of 10
Where was the Olympics first held?
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
Origin of fainéant
OTHER WORDS FROM fainéant
fai·ne·ance [fey-nee-uhns], /ˈfeɪ ni əns/, nounWords nearby fainéant
fail-soft, failure, failure to thrive, fain, fainaigue, fainéant, fainites, fáinne, faint, faintheart, fainthearted
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use fainéant in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for fainéant
fainéant
/ (ˈfeɪnɪənt, French fɛneɑ̃) /
noun
a lazy person; idler
adjective
indolent
Derived forms of fainéant
faineance or faineancy, nounWord Origin for fainéant
C17: from French, modification of earlier fait-nient (he) does nothing, by folk etymology from Old French faignant shirker, from faindre to be lazy
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