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
Derek Carr scored the lone touchdown of the half on a one-yard quarterback sneak for the Raiders, who are trying to keep their own faint playoff hopes from being extinguished.
FitzMagic strikes again as Dolphins stun Raiders, but Tua Tagovailoa remains Miami’s starter | Mark Maske | December 27, 2020 | Washington PostIn June 2016, a faint star in the constellation Sagittarius brightened a bit.
Rogue planets wander the galaxy all alone | Christopher Crockett | December 23, 2020 | Science News For StudentsAstronomers then compare the brightness of these standard candles with that of fainter ones in nearby galaxies to deduce their distances.
Astronomers Get Their Wish, and a Cosmic Crisis Gets Worse | Natalie Wolchover | December 17, 2020 | Quanta MagazineA brilliant and lingering supernova may be a once-in-a-few-centuries occurrence, but we’ll have astronomers and the internet to guide our eyes toward a fainter dot.
Stars are dying all across the galaxy—why don’t we see them? | Charlie Wood | December 16, 2020 | Popular-ScienceThe eROSITA data reveal a faint and previously unknown bubble below the galactic plane, and a matching bubble above.
Enormous X-ray bubbles balloon from the center of the Milky Way | Emily Conover | December 9, 2020 | Science News
She snatched them from him, and burst into a fit of hysterical crying, which ended in a faintness almost as of death.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodAfter his interview with Eloise, the Colonel had complained of nausea and faintness, and had gone early to bed.
The Cromptons | Mary J. HolmesThe faintness caused by lack of food, the cramps in his limbs from constant kneeling, made him unable to sleep.
Robert Annys: Poor Priest | Annie Nathan MeyerMay leans against the wall, a terrible sick faintness, born of excitement and hysteria, coming suddenly upon her.
Six Women | Victoria CrossFaintness overcame me and I stopped to camp, though only a short distance had been covered.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
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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