feign
[ feyn ]
/ feɪn /
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verb (used with object)
to represent fictitiously; put on an appearance of: to feign sickness.
to invent fictitiously or deceptively, as a story or an excuse.
to imitate deceptively: to feign another's voice.
verb (used without object)
to make believe; pretend: She's only feigning, she isn't really ill.
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Origin of feign
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English fei(g)nen, from Old French feign-, present stem of feindre, from Latin fingere “to shape, invent, feign”
synonym study for feign
4. See pretend.
OTHER WORDS FROM feign
feigner, nounfeign·ing·ly, adverbun·feign·ing, adjectiveun·feign·ing·ly, adverbWords nearby feign
feet on the ground, feeze, FEF, Fehling's solution, FEI, feign, feigned, feijoa, feijoada, Feininger, feinschmecker
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use feign in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for feign
feign
/ (feɪn) /
verb
to put on a show of (a quality or emotion); pretendto feign innocence
(tr) to make up; inventto feign an excuse
(tr) to copy; imitateto feign someone's laugh
Derived forms of feign
feigner, nounfeigningly, adverbWord Origin for feign
C13: from Old French feindre to pretend, from Latin fingere to form, shape, invent
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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