feign

American  

[feyn] / feɪn /

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.

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verb (used without object)

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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Related Words

See pretend.

Other Word Forms

• feigner noun
• feigningly adverb

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”

Example Sentences

Or that night we stumbled onto a giant controlled burn and saw the flames reach up and tickle the moon and recognized the gnawing feeling that fire is something we can only feign to control.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 5, 2026

The perpetrator would have to keep at least one clue from his victims to feign innocence, but a subtle inconsistency would allow others to infer his guilt.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

Experts have previously warned the potential for AI chatbots to make things up, be overly-encouraging, and feign empathy can pose risks to young and vulnerable people.

From BBC • Oct. 29, 2025

But more recently, the narcissist has become a villain of personal and political narratives, a slimy creature that can only feign humanity, at least in the popular imagination.

From Slate • Jul. 23, 2025

But it’s whispers mostly, bits of rumor from the staff here who aren’t military, the ones who feel twinges of guilt that make them feign not a friendliness but a base level of civility.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed