faint
lacking brightness, vividness, clearness, loudness, strength, etc.: a faint light;a faint color;a faint sound.
feeble or slight: faint resistance;faint praise;a faint resemblance.
feeling weak, dizzy, or exhausted; about to lose consciousness: faint with hunger.
lacking courage; cowardly; timorous: Faint heart never won fair maid.
Law. unfounded: a faint action.
to lose consciousness temporarily.
to lose brightness.
Archaic. to grow weak; lose spirit or courage.
a temporary loss of consciousness resulting from a decreased flow of blood to the brain; a swoon: to fall into a faint.
Origin of faint
1Other words for faint
| 1 | indistinct, ill-defined, dim, faded, dull, 2 |
| faltering, irresolute, weak | 3 |
| languid | 4 |
| pusillanimous, fearful, timid, dastardly | 6 |
Other words from faint
- fainter, noun
- faint·ing·ly, adverb
- faintish, adjective
- faint·ish·ness, noun
- faintly, adverb
- faintness, noun
- o·ver·faint, adjective
- o·ver·faint·ly, adverb
- o·ver·faint·ness, noun
- un·faint·ing, adjective
- un·faint·ly, adverb
Words that may be confused with faint
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use faint in a sentence
And no matter how hard she might try, the 37-year-old Bany is unable to summon even the faintest memory of him.
34 Years Later, Gunshots Still Echo From a Senseless Killing | Michael Daly | March 11, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIt is thanks to that instant of grace that we can see even the faintest glimmer of light.
The Big Idea: Werner Loewenstein’s ‘Physics in Mind’ | Werner Loewenstein | February 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTSalam blasts Obama for not having the “faintest clue how to prevent our slow-motion slide” into economic depression.
No woman has shown the faintest interest in me in many years, except in a dutiful way if stuck next to me at a dinner party.
There is only the faintest trace of nostalgia for her hometown, and little for American culture.
But in the matter of that wine—the faintest of smiles hovered on her lips, her eyebrows went up a shade.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniWithout any training in or natural bent for diplomacy, Aguinaldo had not the faintest idea of what foreign “protection” signified.
The Philippine Islands | John ForemanBut nothing was visible, she declared, and she heard not the faintest sound of an animal making off under cover of the darkness.
Three More John Silence Stories | Algernon BlackwoodWell, I havent the faintest knowledge in which direction the entrance lies, Gale said candidly.
The Adventure Girls at K Bar O | Clair BlankIt fell with the faintest splash, and there was a little puff of spray as his head dipped and the water washed across his lips.
The Gold Trail | Harold Bindloss
British Dictionary definitions for faint
/ (feɪnt) /
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)
not the faintest, not the faintest idea or not the faintest notion no idea whatsoever: I haven't the faintest
to lose consciousness, esp momentarily, as through weakness
archaic, or poetic to fail or become weak, esp in hope or courage
a sudden spontaneous loss of consciousness, usually momentary, caused by an insufficient supply of blood to the brain: Technical name: syncope
Origin of faint
1Derived forms of faint
- fainter, noun
- faintingly, adverb
- faintish, adjective
- faintishness, noun
- faintly, adverb
- faintness, noun
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with faint
see damn with faint praise.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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