faint

[feynt]

adjective

fainter, faintest 

1. lacking brightness, vividness, clearness, loudness, strength, etc..

   a faint light;

   a faint color;

   a faint sound.

   Synonyms: dull, dim, ill-defined, indistinct

2. feeble or slight.

   faint resistance;

   faint praise;

   a faint resemblance.

   Synonyms: weak, irresolute

3. feeling weak, dizzy, or exhausted; about to lose consciousness.

   faint with hunger.

   Synonyms: languid

4. lacking courage; cowardly; timorous.

   Faint heart never won fair maid.

   Synonyms: dastardly, timid, fearful, pusillanimous

5. Law.,  unfounded.

   a faint action.

verb (used without object)

1. to lose consciousness temporarily.

2. to lose brightness.

3. Archaic.,  to grow weak; lose spirit or courage.

noun

1. a temporary loss of consciousness resulting from a decreased flow of blood to the brain; a swoon.

   to fall into a faint.

faint

/ feɪnt /

adjective

1. lacking clarity, brightness, volume, etc

   a faint noise

2. lacking conviction or force; weak

   faint praise

3. feeling dizzy or weak as if about to lose consciousness

4. without boldness or courage; timid (esp in the combination faint-hearted )

5. no idea whatsoever

   I haven't the faintest

verb

1. to lose consciousness, esp momentarily, as through weakness

2. archaic,  to fail or become weak, esp in hope or courage

noun

1. Technical name: syncope. a sudden spontaneous loss of consciousness, usually momentary, caused by an insufficient supply of blood to the brain

Other Word Forms

• fainter noun
• faintingly adverb
• faintish adjective
• faintishness noun
• faintly adverb
• faintness noun
• overfaint adjective
• overfaintly adverb
• overfaintness noun
• unfainting adjective
• unfaintly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of faint¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French: literally, “feigned,” past participle of faindre, feindre “to feign”; feign

Word History and Origins

Origin of faint¹

C13: from Old French, from faindre to be idle

Idioms and Phrases

see damn with faint praise.

Example Sentences

Two people in the area fainted as thermometers showed the temperature hitting 97 degrees.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It’s not for the faint of heart, especially as you have less runway until your retirement.

Read more on MarketWatch

It’s not for the faint of heart, especially as you have less runway ahead until your retirement.

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By applying machine learning, the team trained computer models to recognize faint molecular fingerprints left by living organisms long after the original biomolecules were destroyed.

Read more on Science Daily

The pain in my hand cools to a faint throb.

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Related Words

• delicate 
• dim 
• distant 
• dull 
• far-off 
• gentle 
• hazy 
• inaudible 
• mild 
• muffled www.thesaurus.com
• muted 
• remote 
• slight 
• soft 
• soothing 
• stifled 
• vague 
• weak