feign

[feyn]

verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

1. to make believe; pretend.

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

feign

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• feigningly adverb
• feigner noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of feign¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of feign¹

C13: from Old French feindre to pretend, from Latin fingere to form, shape, invent

Synonym Study

See pretend.

Example Sentences

She was constantly feigning umbrage, often at the silliest moments.

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But Kennedy did not invent this schtick of trying to rebrand misogyny as feminism through trolling and feigning “concern” for women and children’s safety.

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Having the vice president declare that a condition of your employment should be feigning grief might skirt being an outright violation of the First Amendment, but it’s certainly a chilling violation of its basic spirit.

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Colton said she could not have imagined such a possibility when she sat in school, feigning that she had no answers to teachers’ questions simply because she could not see the board.

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And yet, many also practice the human tendency of feigning blindness concerning topics too unpleasant to confront directly.

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