feign

American  

[feyn] / feɪn /

verb (used with object)

feigns, present (3rd person singular) feigned, past participle, past feigning present participle

1. to represent fictitiously; put on an appearance of.

   to feign sickness.

2. to invent fictitiously or deceptively, as a story or an excuse.

3. to imitate deceptively.

   to feign another's voice.

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verb (used without object)

feigns, present (3rd person singular) feigned, past participle, past feigning present participle

1. to make believe; pretend.

   She's only feigning, she isn't really ill.

feign British  

/ feɪn /

verb

1. to put on a show of (a quality or emotion); pretend

   to feign innocence

2. (tr) to make up; invent

   to feign an excuse

3. (tr) to copy; imitate

   to feign someone's laugh

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Synonym Usage

See pretend.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• feigner
  noun
• feigningly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• feigning
  present
• feigned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• feign
  simple
• feigns
  simple
• have feigned
  perfect
• has feigned
  perfect
• am feigning
  progressive
• are feigning
  progressive
• is feigning
  progressive
• have been feigning
  perfect progressive
• has been feigning
  perfect progressive

Past

• feigned
  simple
• had feigned
  perfect
• was feigning
  progressive
• were feigning
  progressive
• had been feigning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will feign
  simple
• will have feigned
  perfect
• will be feigning
  progressive
• will have been feigning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of feign

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English fei(g)nen, from Old French feign-, present stem of faindre, feindre, from Latin fingere “to feign, invent, shape”

Explanation

For a more formal way to say pretend to or imitate, choose the verb feign. You might feign indifference when you hear about some gossip, but you're probably dying to know. Feign comes from the Latin fingere, "to devise, fabricate." The word fiction comes from the same source, so if you feign something such as sleep, you give off the fiction that you are sleeping. This can be done to be polite but also to deceive such as when you feign an injury or the flu so you can stay home from school or work. You can also feign an accent, though some are better at this than others.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

feign feigns feigned feigning

“It’s almost laughable for the president of Mexico to feign ignorance” about CIA activities in Mexico, said Gilberto Gonzalez, a former DEA agent who worked here in the 1980s and 1990s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026

Our civilization shouldn’t feign excessive humility and modesty while America inspires creative drive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

It’s weird to be paranoid or to feign paranoia as part of an elaborate performance to manipulate rubes.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2025

I would feign shock or dismay at its popularity if I didn’t already know that we are a nation of self-serving masochists.

From Salon ● Apr. 8, 2025

I wonder if she’s inventing new ways to steal sympathy from her friends—new diseases to feign to make them more loyal.

From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King

In response, Jenrick said the mistaken release was "a national embarrassment and today the justice secretary feigns anger at what happened."

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2025

Noonan feigns surprise at the turnabout while crediting others for his team’s accomplishments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2023

Miranda feigns being open, but she'd rather shape Che's world to her liking instead of fulfilling the reason for her move to L.A., the purpose of which was to be in her lover's world.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2023

When the film momentarily feigns to look like a film, the image zooms out to reveal that the handsome cinematography is really a true crime docuseries streaming on June’s laptop.

From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2023

Slant watches over us all; Charles feigns sleep.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

I feigned disappointment but secretly sighed with relief: The last time I’d come, the pod’s door hadn’t closed, spiking my adrenaline even more during the seven-minute trip across the valley.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025

When another student enters and surveys the bodies on the ground in poorly feigned shock, few manage to suppress their giggles.

From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2025

“Go on,” Johnson says with a feigned seriousness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2025

Ms Heer said Harris "feigned ignorance" by sending two messages to the victim asking what had happened.

From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2025

I feigned shock, but truthfully, since I’m so sick and opportunistic, I was happy to hear it.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

In some cases, bureaucrats resorted to ostentatious gestures and outright fraud, feigning adherence to unrealistic targets and masking underperformance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

Spaeny: It’s what every actor is thinking except they’re feigning ...

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026

However, the “Hannah Montana” star did not end her mockery there—going on to accuse Cooper of feigning innocence about the proximity of their properties.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 31, 2026

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke accused Manchester City's Gianluigi Donnarumma of feigning injury to "bend the rules" on Saturday so coach Pep Guardiola could get new instructions to his side.

From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2025

“Tell me again, what university are they in?” my mom asked, feigning ignorance.

From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez