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
Synonyms for faint
Related Words for faintest
dim, remote, dull, slight, inaudible, weak, hazy, soothing, gentle, mild, distant, muffled, far-off, soft, vague, delicate, muted, stifled, swoon, succumbExamples from the Web for faintest
Contemporary Examples of faintest
And no matter how hard she might try, the 37-year-old Bany is unable to summon even the faintest memory of him.
It is thanks to that instant of grace that we can see even the faintest glimmer of light.
Salam 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.
Historical Examples of faintest
There is no room for doubt in my mind, no faintest suspicion.
The Man ShakespeareFrank Harris
The faintest whiff of stephanotis came to her on the lazy summer air.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
You took the right one—but I'm not—I haven't the faintest idea who you are.
Chip, of the Flying UB. M. Bower
The faintest suspicion of a tinge of color crept into his cheeks.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
"What you'll say to John I haven't the faintest notion," she said.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
faint
- lacking clarity, brightness, volume, etca faint noise
- lacking conviction or force; weakfaint 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 whatsoeverI 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 brainTechnical name: syncope
Word Origin for faint
Word Origin and History for faintest
faint
c.1300, "wanting in courage," now mostly in faint-hearted (mid-15c.), from Old French feint "soft, weak, sluggish," past participle of feindre "hesitate, falter, be indolent, show weakness, avoid one's duty by pretending" (see feign). Sense of "weak, feeble" is early 14c. Meaning "producing a feeble impression upon the senses" is from 1650s.
faint
"grow weak" (c.1300); "lose heart" (mid-14c.); see faint (adj.). Sense of "swoon" is c.1400. Related: Fainted; fainting.
faint
(fānt)- An abrupt, usually brief loss of consciousness; an attack of syncope.
- Extremely weak; threatened with syncope.
Idioms and Phrases with faintest
faint
see damn with faint praise.