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:
As soon as Abdy turned her speech toward rage, a faint “preach!” rang from somewhere in the ballroom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
Webb's extraordinary sensitivity made it possible to discover 27 exceptionally faint objects.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026
The faint cry of protesters could be heard in the distance as Charles visited Umana Yana, a thatched hut and traditional Indigenous gathering place.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
In the coming weeks, the team plans to test the coronagraph's ability to block unwanted light, an essential capability for observing faint objects near much brighter ones.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
The oak-paneled walls soak up the room’s faint light.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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
Immediately he can smell it: the perfume is so sweet, so outrageously sweet, that he nearly faints.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Hope still has a heartbeat, but that grows fainter by the loss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Instead of producing similar flares on each return, they become steadily fainter.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
To spot S301 -- which is two billion times fainter than the star Betelgeuse in our sky -- the team of astronomers used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in the Chilean desert.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
It is more than one million times fainter than the Sun's surface, which is why it is invisible in normal daylight.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The Voice on the earth was now louder and more triumphant; but the voices in the sky, after singing loudly with it for a time, began to get fainter.
From "The Magician's Nephew" by C. S. Lewis
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
They speak different things just by the faintest of angles.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
At the end of July, he fainted during a court hearing and was treated in intensive care.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
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
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
She got hot standing at the grill and fainted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026
I almost fainted when he showed it to us.
From "The Night Diary" by Veera Hiranandani
There is no evidence that Xi is gravely ill or that he had a stroke or fainting spell, as rumored across social media this week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
She recalled taking the dressing off her wound and fainting in the shower.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
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
Lila screamed when Darren held it up, and Josie made fake barfing sounds, and Hillary and two other girls pretended like they were fainting, but all the boys thought it was really cool.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
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